The Orchard
by LemonStar
Summary: ..Daryl/Beth.. AU - no zombies. 1945. The war is over and soldiers are flooding home, ready to pick up the lives they have had on hold for the past few years. Daryl Dixon has no life to return to and no plans of what he is going to do with himself. When he meets Hershel Greene, and the man offers him a job on his farm, Daryl has no reason to turn him down.
1. June, 1945

**Once again, I am trying something very different for this pairing. I hope it works out and that you like it!**

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 **Chapter One.** **June. 1945.**

It's Wednesday. Even if he didn't have a calendar hanging on the wall of his small cabin, he would still know it is Wednesday because when Hershel comes into the barn to tell him it's time for lunch, he comes towards the house and sees her in the backyard, hanging wet sheets on the clotheslines, humming as she does. She always washes the sheets every Wednesday.

He doesn't watch her though. His eyes float towards her as always before he quickly averts them to the ground. He ignores the way the warm breeze blowing that day flutters the hem of the blue dress she's wearing around her knees. The way it teases at her hair. She's not like the other girls who wear their hair always pinned up off their neck and face. She wears her hair down almost every single day. Long and the prettiest blonde he's ever seen on a woman. Veronica Lake's got nothing on Hershel Greene's daughter's hair.

He doesn't look at any of that though. He's only been on the farm for three weeks now but he's learned that he can't look at her. Not because Hershel has threatened him with a shotgun to the ass if he does but because he knows that if he starts looking at her, he won't stop.

…

Hershel Greene has two men working on his farm.

Otis Pruitt, who has been the farmhand for so long now, most don't remember the time before when he wasn't there. He lives in town with his wife, Patricia, though he's at the farm everyday by sunrise and doesn't leave until sunset and it's not known when he's ever home.

And now there's him. Daryl Dixon, Sergeant First Class, fresh from serving three years overseas. Just a couple of months ago, he was somewhere in Germany, shooting at someone as they shot at him, and now he's here, on some farm in Georgia, taking care of cattle and horses and mending fences.

Sometimes, Daryl wakes up in the middle of the night and has no idea where he is.

..

After VE Day and the war was declared to be over and victorious, the soldiers came back home to the States, all eager to meet up with their girls or wives and start the life that had been put on hold for the past three years. Daryl listened to the men in his company talk about their plans and all of the things they were going to do and when they asked Daryl, he just shrugged and didn't say anything because he didn't have anything to say.

He didn't have family to get home to. Both of his parents had been long dead and his older brother, the only family he had, Merle, had been a POW in Germany for the past couple of years and Daryl knew then – as he knows now – that he would never see Merle again.

When he got back to New York, he got on a bus and started heading south. There was nothing for him in Georgia anymore but that was where he had lived before the war and he figured that that was where he would live now.

It was only by coincidence that he met Hershel Greene. The bus had stopped for gas in some small town and Daryl had stepped down to go by himself a Coke inside and there Hershel Greene was, talking to a man behind the counter with glasses and white hair and when Daryl tried to pass over a dime for the Coke, the man shook his head, smiling at Daryl in his uniform, pushing the dime back to him.

"Your money's no good here, son," the man said and Daryl opened his mouth to protest. Dixons didn't take charity – no matter how big or small – but before he could say anything, the man spoke to him again. "Where you headed?"

Daryl shrugged. "Not too sure. Don't have anywhere I need to be."

The man smiled at that and then looked to Hershel. "Looks like your prayers have been answered, Hershel."

Daryl had no idea what the hell they were talking about but he looked to the man named Hershel and Hershel looked at him and when he smiled at him, Daryl swore he saw his eyes twinkling. Within five minutes, he was the newest farmhand down at the Greene farm.

…

Hershel needs as much help as he can get. He lost his leg below the knee in the first world war and then he lost his only son on the beaches at Normandy. His oldest daughter had married and had moved to Michigan with her husband and now, there is only him, his wife, Annette, and their eighteen-year-old daughter, Beth.

Beth. She's the one Daryl can't look at.

Too young. Too pretty. The boss's daughter. Daryl has no business even thinking about her. But sometimes, at night, lying in bed in the small cabin on the property that Hershel has given him to live in, Daryl's mind wanders to thoughts of her. Beth. Sometimes, he mouths her name. Doesn't speak it. Just mouths it to feel the way the word forms on his lips. He thinks of her hanging the wash on the clotheslines outside or the way she comes to the barn to see her horse, Nellie, to feed her a carrot and to sing to her songs that makes Daryl pause in his work to listen or the way she laughs when her daddy brings her the last blossom from one of the apple trees and she wears the flower tucked behind her ear for the rest of the day.

He suspects she has a beau though it's been three weeks and Daryl hasn't seen anyone calling for her. He wonders what the hell is the matter with the boys around here that they wouldn't be calling on Beth Greene. There was a news story on the radio the other day about how now the men are home, the marriage rate is booming and Daryl heard that and his mind immediately imagined Beth before he snapped at himself to knock it the hell off.

Beth is too young; too pretty and too sweet to just marry some farmhand who has no other plans in his life to become something more. She deserves a man who's going somewhere.

So, he doesn't look at her. Hardly even acknowledges her when she's nearby even when she smiles at him and says hello. He just grunts and gets the hell away from her.

Hopefully, sometime soon, she'll take the hint and leave him alone.

…

Otis and Daryl eat their lunch every day in the kitchen with the rest of the Greene family. It still makes Daryl a little uncomfortable – to be included in such a familial scene – but he knows that Hershel won't let him eat his meals outside. He eats breakfast with them, too, and dinner every night is in the dining room and if Daryl wants to eat, he knows he has to eat it inside with the family. Some days, he's tempted to just go into town and eat there.

It's tuna salad sandwiches that day and once each man has eaten two sandwiches, Annette stands up to start taking the plates to the sink and Beth stands up, returning a moment later with a pie dish in her hands.

"Is that blueberry?" Otis asks, his eyes gleaming.

"You bet. Just picked them yesterday," Beth smiles, setting the dish down on the table.

"Beth makes the best blueberry pie in the county," Otis then informs Daryl.

"Otis, stop. I do not," Beth says, laughing a little, and Daryl notices her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"She does," Otis says to Daryl. "Big piece for me, Beth."

Beth cuts him a hefty slice and places the plate down in front of him and then without asking Daryl if he would like any, she cuts him a slice in equal size and sets it down in front of him.

Daryl feels her eyes watching him as he picks up his fork and takes a bite. She's probably waiting to see what he thinks and he lifts his head to look at her. Her face is relaxed but he sees an anxiousness in her eyes as if his opinion is truly that damn important to her.

"'s good," he says in his grunt and she bursts into a small smile.

It's better than good but he doesn't know how to tell her that. Otis is right though. It's the best blueberry pie – best _pie_ of them all – that he's ever had.

"Oh, Beth, if I was just twenty years younger," Otis is saying and Daryl dares a peek at Beth.

She is laughing as she cuts a slice of pie and sets it down in front of her daddy, Hershel smiling over the whole conversation.

"I wonder what Patricia would say about that," Beth teases back.

"Whoever you marry, Beth, he is going to be a very lucky man," Otis continues.

Hershel smiles and pats Beth's arm as she blushes again and Daryl looks down at his pie, pretending it's the most interesting thing he's ever seen.

…

He's in the hayloft, pitching hay over through the large door at the end of the barn, dropping it to the ground below, when he hears a murmur of a voice below. And then singing and he knows it's Beth, probably paying a visit to Nellie again. Hershel told him the first day on the farm that when he takes a horse out to ride, he can take any horse to ride except Nellie. Not only is that Beth's horse but Beth is very much Nellie's person. She'll throw anyone off of her who isn't Beth and he's noticed that the horse is pretty damn nervous unless around Beth.

Daryl stabs the pitchfork into a bale of hay before moving towards the ladder, not admitting to himself that he wants to hear the song she's singing. It's Judy Garland. He knows it is because he's already learned that Beth loves Judy Garland and just last week, he went into town to look at some records and just so happened to pick a Judy Garland one to listen to, instantly recognizing some of the songs as the ones he's heard Beth sing around the farm.

"Clang, clang, clang went the trolley/Ding, ding, ding went the bell/Zing, zing, zing went my heart strings/For the moment I saw her I fell./Chug, chug, chug went the motor/Thump, thump, thump went the brake/Thump, thump, thump went my heart strings/When she smiled, I could feel the car shake."

Beth laughs then, the song broken, and Daryl peaks over the edge to see that Nellie has taken it upon herself to chew on a lock of Beth's hair.

"Nellie, stop that," she says, trying to scold but still laughing as she pulls her head back.

He then hears her footsteps nearing the ladder and he quickly pulls himself back so she doesn't see him eavesdropping.

"Daryl!" She calls up to him. "I've brought you some lemonade!"

Daryl takes a moment to exhale a deep breath and he then appears, seeing her looking up at him, the smile on her face instant. He grunts, not saying anything, and he begins coming down the ladder. He's in his undershirt and when he's on the floor again, he doesn't look at her as he picks up his button down shirt from where he had tossed it over one of the horse pen doors. He still doesn't look at her as he puts it back on, concentrating on the buttons.

"I like your dog tags," she says.

He pauses and looks down at the silver tags hanging around his neck, clanging against his chest. He's tried taking them off since he's gotten back but it's never felt right. He's used to their weight around his neck and the noise they make when they hit together. He's worn them for three years and he figures he'll wear them for the rest of his life.

He finishes buttoning his shirt and finally looks at her. Her hair is down with just a few locks of it pinned back from her face and her cheeks are stained pink from the warm Georgia afternoon. Her dress is maroon with white polka dots and he can't help but look down her thin legs… to her bare feet. He lifts his eyes to her and he must be asking a question with them because Beth blushes then – girl seems to blush all of the time – and laughs a little.

"Don't tell my mama," she says. "I'll get an hour-long lecture on propriety and acting like a woman. Women don't go running around with their shoes off."

"Shouldn't be in here without shoes," he tells her. "Could step on a nail or somethin'."

"I know," she nods and she steps forward, holding out the glass of lemonade still in her hand towards him. "I just love the feel of the grass."

He takes a step forward to take the glass and his fingers make the briefest of contact against hers. He quickly takes the glass and pulls his hand back as if she has just scalded him.

Daryl doesn't say anything to that as he sips at the lemonade. He feels sweat on the back of his neck and he tells himself it's because of the temperature that day and nothing else. Beth goes back to Nellie's stall and rubs the horse on her snout as she begins humming a song.

He can't help but watch her from over the top of his glass. It's a strange thought to have but he finds himself wishing he had known her a few years earlier – before the war. He wonders if she would have written him letters. He asks the question to himself though he already knows the answer. Beth is definitely the kind of girl who would write letters to her fella if she had one overseas in the fighting. Daryl didn't get any letters while over there except the official one from the government, informing him about Merle.

They both hear a car coming up the drive, nearing the house, and both turn their heads to look. He doesn't recognize the car but can tell the person doesn't care too much about caring for it. It's dirty and the muffler sounds like a gun backfiring. He can't help but frown at it. Beth, on the other hand, gasps and Daryl looks to her. A smile has exploded across her face as her eyes stare at the car now pulling to a stop in front of the house.

"Jimmy," she says, sounding breathless, and then she's running.

Right past Daryl and out of the barn and Daryl turns around, watching Beth run across the grass, calling out the name – Jimmy! – again so her voice echoes across the sky. Daryl sees a young man get out of the car and he's grinning widely as Beth runs right into his arms. Jimmy's arms cinch around her waist and he picks her up and she starts laughing.

Daryl feels himself frowning as her laughter burns into his ears though he knows he has no right to be frowning. Three weeks, he's been wondering, and now he's got his answer. Beth Greene does have a beau. Some kid named Jimmy who drives a shitty car.

Daryl gulps the rest of his lemonade and sets the glass down on the floor right at the edge of the barn door before heading back up the ladder towards the hayloft.

He actually feels a little relieved that Beth seems to have a boy. A _boy_ closer to her age. Now, he can go and get himself to stop thinking about her all of the damn time. Now, she can just be the boss's daughter and this time, when he continues to avoid her, it'll be because of that and for no other reason.

…

He's seen things that would normally give people nightmares. Men being blown to bits in front of him, grown men crying out for their mamas as they hold their insides in their hands, men screaming as they get their legs or arms cut off right there on the battlefield.

Daryl can't actually remember the last nightmare he's had. Instead, he dreams.

He dreams of being in the woods, tracking after a deer, always on high alert but relaxed in a way that he only ever is when in the woods, and he hears a soft giggle from behind him. He turns and there's Beth, smiling at him, no shoes on her feet.

"You're gonna hurt yourself, girl," he says but he's smiling as he does.

"Guess you'll just have to carry me then, Daryl Dixon," she keeps smiling.

And in his dream, he doesn't scoff or blush or high-tail it away from her. Instead, he just smiles and swings her up in his arms and carries her through the woods, feeling her warm, light body in his arms and her arms around his neck.

And when he wakes up suddenly, his heart is pounding and his pants are tight and he lays there, blinking up at the ceiling. He calls himself an idiot and he wishes Merle was here because his older brother would definitely have lots more colorful names to call him.

He doesn't know what the hell this girl has done to him. He has never thought about a girl the way he seems to always be thinking of Beth Greene lately. Ever since her daddy brought him back to the farm and introduced him as the newest farmhand and introduced his family and he laid eyes on her for the first time.

Daryl reminds himself that it doesn't matter. Beth's too young and Beth's got a beau and he remembers what Hershel first said to him when he offered him the job.

He just has to stay until the end of October. Until the end of the apple harvest and if he wants to leave then, he can leave. He will have a job for as long as he wants it but Hershel can't make him stay. Daryl hadn't thought about it too much at the time but now, lying there, his heart still racing in his chest as if he had had a nightmare rather than a dream – or maybe it had been a nightmare – Daryl thinks that that's exactly what he'll do.

He'll leave the farm at the end of October. Isn't too sure why he had ever thought about staying longer than that in the first place.

…

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 **Thank you so much for reading and commenting!**


	2. Glances

**I'm kind of in shock over the warm response to the first chapter. I have never really written a historical romance like this before and I'm nervous and I just hope I'm able to pull it off. THANK YOU so, so much for all of the reviews, favorites and alerts.**

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…

 **Chapter Two.** Glances.

"But daddy-" She begins but she gets no further in her protest than that before Hershel responds, holding up his hand, stopping her. She promptly snaps her mouth shut but her body remains tense. She hates when her daddy treats her like this.

"You are not going by yourself, Bethy. You're a beautiful, unattached, young woman."

"I'm eighteen!" She tells him as she always does even though mentioning her age never helps the argument. It doesn't matter to her daddy. There is no difference between eight and eighteen as far as he's concerned and she wonders how old she will have to be before her daddy starts looking to her as an adult who can do things on her own.

"Ask Daryl and see if he'll take you," Hershel then suggests.

And it's amazing to her how the instant she ever hears that man's name, her stomach clenches.

Beth shakes her head. "I can't bother Daryl on his afternoon off."

"Then you'll have to wait until Monday when your mother is feeling better."

Beth pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes wander to the window that overlooks the fields behind the house. She sees the small cabin Daryl lives in and she tells herself that she can't bother him. But then, she can't help but wonder how nice it would be to spend the afternoon with him – just the two of them.

…

She hasn't been to the cabin since Daryl moved in a few weeks ago. Her mother is the one to come collect his dirty laundry and then deliver it back to him once it's clean again. Beth knows there is never any reason - a proper reason - to come down here to see him – until now – and she feels her stomach flapping nervously as she raises her fist and knocks on the door.

She hears shuffling and then a moment later, the door opens.

Daryl stands there in pants and a white undershirt. The sun catches the ever present dog tags hanging around his neck. His hair is a mess and looks as if he has just woken up from a nap. He stares at her as if he's never seen her before and she fights the urge to shift nervously on her feet. She makes sure to keep her eyes on him.

"Hi," she gives him a small smile. "I'm sorry to bother you but I need a ride to the library in town and mama's not feeling that well so she's lying down and daddy can't take me."

He stares at her for another moment. "Give me a minute," he then tells her in that gruff voice of his before he turns and heads into the cabin, leaving the door open.

Beth can't help but peer inside. It's small with the big bed pushed up against one wall and she sees that it's neatly made, which is surprising to her. She hadn't thought men knew how to make a bed. The kitchen area is small; the wooden table with the two matching wood chairs is simple. There are two armchairs and a table with a lamp and a radio in the far corner. And in the opposite far corner is the door leading into the small bathroom. She can't see many personal items that belong to Daryl and hadn't been there already before him.

He appears again, buttoning a shirt up, and she takes a step back as he steps from the cabin, closing the door behind him.

"Thank you for taking me," she smiles at him. "Daddy says it's not a good idea for a young lady like me to go by myself."

"Your pops is right," he says.

And she can't help but frown. "I'm not a little girl," she feels the need to point out to him.

Daryl glances at her for only a moment before looking away. "Never said you were."

Beth feels her stomach fluttering again. It's important to her that he knows that and she feels a mixture of relief and happiness that he does.

…

At the farm's pickup truck, he opens the passenger door for her, surprising her, but when she looks at him to smile and thank him, he's already walking away, his eyes on the ground.

…

Her daddy had gone to town to see his friend, Dale, who runs the service station in town, and an hour later, he had returned with a young man beside him. He was quiet and wore an army uniform and Hershel declared that this was Daryl Dixon and he was going to be working on the farm for as long as he wanted to stay.

Beth had looked at him and immediately, she felt a tightening in her stomach. He was handsome with his dark brown hair and blue eyes and even with his uniform, she could see the muscles in his arms that made her lips feel dry. He had only glanced at her for a moment before he was looking to Annette as she began speaking to him and Beth studied him more.

And every day since then, she has studied him. She doesn't really get a chance except at meal time. He eats three meals with the family in the farmhouse every day and that's the only time Beth sees him for more than a few seconds at a time. If she sees him out in the fields or in the barn, he only glances at her before turning his head away. He doesn't seem to like looking at her and Beth tries to not let it bother her; tries to tell herself that it's because he doesn't see anything worth looking at and if that's the truth, she's fine with that. Really, she is.

She doesn't mean to sound vain but she has been told by others for her entire life how beautiful she is and she knows she's a pretty girl. At least to everyone she is except to Daryl.

If he doesn't think she's pretty or if he doesn't like her, she can't force him to.

But it makes her heart twist painfully a little each time he looks away because if there is anyone she wants to like her, it's Daryl Dixon.

…

The ride to town is absolutely silent between them, which isn't surprising to her, but she catches him glancing at her from the corner of his eye more than once and she can't help it.

"Is something wrong?" She asks suddenly and she seems to startle him, his eyes snapping towards her before snapping right back to the road.

"Why you ask that?" He grunts.

"You keep looking at me," she points out and she swears she sees the tip of his ears turn red.

He shrugs a shoulder and doesn't look at her again. "Just never seen you with your hair up."

Her hands fly to her hair once he mentions it. She has the locks all twisted and pinned up that afternoon. "I have to wear my hair up if I'm going to town. Mama insists. A lady can't be seen with her hair down."

"Mmmm," he says between pursed lips and doesn't say anything else.

She wants to ask him if he likes it up but she bites the question back and swallows it. She reminds herself that it doesn't matter whether he likes it or not.

…

He parks the truck at the library and she's surprised when he follows her inside, grabbing hold of the door and holding it open for her. This time, she is able to smile at him and he quickly ducks his head down and she sees the tips of his ears go red again.

"I won't be long," she speaks to him softly once they're inside.

He shrugs, hands in his pockets. "Take as long as you want." He then looks around and she reminds herself that he's never been in here before.

"You shouldn't say that," she smiles a little. "I could spend hours in here if I could."

He looks at her then, his eyes locking with hers, and Beth swears she feels all of the air expel from her lungs in a sudden whoosh. He has the prettiest eyes and she just wants to keep looking into them for as long as he'll let her.

"Take as long as you want," he tells her again and her stomach goes back to fluttering.

She gives him a small smile and then forces herself to step away from him. She heads down one aisle and once she sees him walking away in another direction, she leans herself back against the shelf behind her as if she needs the support and she reminds herself to breathe.

…

Beth tries to not take as long as she usually can while in the library and she finds him again after a half hour. He's in a different aisle than the one she's been in, looking through a book, and he looks up the instant he hears her heels approaching him.

"Would you like to get something?" She asks. "I have my library card."

He seems to hesitate for a moment before he gives his head a single nod. "Thank you."

He follows her to the circulation desk and she sets her two books down as Daryl sets his down beside hers. She can't help but look at the title. It is a clothbound hardback with a red cover and the title is in gold lettering. _The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865_. She isn't surprised that he has chosen such a book. She's not sure why but she seems to know that Daryl Dixon is the sort of man who enjoys studying history.

She wonders if he knows that he has just made his own history by fighting in this war.

"Here you are, Beth," Lori, the librarian, smiles at her, handing the books back to her once she has placed the stamps into the envelopes on the inside covers. "Two weeks as always."

"Thank you, Lori," Beth smiles in return and reaches for the three books but before she can, Daryl takes them first, holding them in his hand.

Beth looks at him and gives him a smile but again, he's not looking at her.

…

"Do you mind if we stop at the ice cream parlor?" Beth asks once they've stepped outside again. "It's such a warm day and I'd like to treat you since you drove me here."

He shrugged. "Didn' mind."

"May I buy you an ice cream cone?" She asks.

And again, he shrugs but doesn't say anything.

…

She gets herself a strawberry ice cream cone and Daryl gets a chocolate but before she can hand her own coins over, Daryl, once again, swoops in and hands money over before her.

"You don't have to do that," she tells him.

He doesn't say anything.

They walk beside one another down the sidewalk back towards the truck and they lick their ice cream in silence. She looks down to the books he is still holding before looking at him.

"There was a Civil War battle around here," she tells him suddenly and he glances to her. "It wasn't one of the big ones but it's not far from here. There's a marker and we sometimes get tourists to town who come to see it though I really don't think there's much to see. Just a field. Would you like to go see it?" She asks.

He's quiet for a minute, taking a lick of his ice cream and looking down to the ground. "Maybe some other time," he finally answers. "Gotta get back and see to feedin' the horses."

"Alright," Beth says and she knows he's right – chores on a farm never end – but she can't help but feel disappointed that their short afternoon together has already come to an end.

…

She's never been in love before.

She dated Jimmy Campbell for a brief time in high school but she never fooled herself into thinking that that was anything but love formed between two friends. She and Jimmy had known one another since they were practically babies and it seemed like everyone around them just assumed that they would one day fall in love and get married and have babies of their own.

And she thinks that that's perhaps why they ever started to go out with one another in the first place. Because it was merely expected of them. But the first time she and Jimmy kissed, they both broke away and began to laugh because it was as if they were kissing siblings.

He was so angry when the war broke out and he was too young to volunteer and has said that if the country ever enters a war again, he doesn't care how old he was. He's going to fight. Beth thinks he's crazy for wanting another war just so he can fight in it. The past years on everyone in this country have been so hard – the loss and death and rations and constantly living with a grey cloud over their heads – and Beth never wants to live through it again.

Jimmy has gone off to college, home now for the summer, and she expects they will spend plenty of their time together and Beth is looking forward to it. Jimmy is the best friend she has ever had and she knows that once he goes and gets married to a girl and she goes off and gets married to a man, their time together won't be able to be as frequent.

She sits on the window seat in her bedroom and looks out the window with her journal open in her lap and she can't help but look at Daryl as he stands in the backyard at the water pump, splashing water onto his face.

She's never been in love before but she feels the clenching in her stomach and the fluttering in her heart every time she looks upon that man and she wonders if it's possible that she might be falling in love with Daryl. She doesn't know what being in love will feel like but she's read enough about it in her books to think that maybe, she is with him.

She just has no idea what to do about it.

…

A Johnny Mercer song is playing over the radio and Beth hums along with it as she cuts carrots to throw into the dish beside her. Annette is beside her, cutting up the onions since her mama is always able to cut the onions without crying and every time Beth does, she feels like someone has turned a faucet on behind her eyelids.

The back door opens and they both lift their heads to see Daryl step in, looking unsure.

"Hershel said you were needin' this," he says then as he holds up some bloody meat in his hand. Beth notices that he doesn't even glance towards her, keeping his eyes set on Annette the entire time.

"Daryl, you did not have to clean it for me," Annette said, wiping her hands on her apron and coming around the counter to him. "I just told Hershel that I needed one killed. I'm perfectly capable of plucking the feathers off myself. You have enough things to do."

Daryl shrugs. "Hardly took any time at all."

"Well, thank you," Annette smiles at her. "You are far too sweet."

Beth sees the way his cheeks blush at the compliment and Annette takes the bloody chicken to the sink. Beth keeps looking at him and Daryl shuffles back to the door.

"Wait!" Beth hears herself call out before she can stop herself. Daryl stops right at the door and looks at her. Her heart speeds up. "We have a pitcher of iced tea. Would you like some?"

He visibly swallows. "Gotta wash this blood off my hands," he says.

"I can bring you a glass in a few minutes," she is quick to offer.

Daryl looks at her for another moment before he looks away. "A'right. Thank you," he adds quickly and then pushes the screen door open with his elbow and is gone.

She watches him go and she can't get her heart to slow down.

Annette comes to stand beside her again and she reaches out, tucking some hair behind Beth's ear, and Beth's eyes fly to her. Annette smiles and it looks like she wants to laugh.

"Who can blame you for being in love with that man?" She asks her daughter.

Beth feels her face explode in warmth. "I… love?" She asks unsurely.

Annette just keeps smiling. "It will become clearer to you in due time whether you do or not," she says as if promising her. "He's a good man," she then adds.

"How do you know? He barely speaks to me." And Beth can't help but frown at that.

"He's shy. Quiet. He's a hard-worker and respectful of everyone on this farm. It's not hard to see a man is a good one through his actions. Besides, nothing wrong with a man who doesn't talk a lot. Men who tend to talk a lot show just how big of idiots they are," Annette smiles.

Beth can't help but laugh a little at that.

"And he seems to be a little smitten with you, too," Annette continues.

Beth nearly coughs at that. "What? How… he acts like I have some sort of disease," she sputters and it's Annette's turn to laugh.

"You obviously haven't seen the way he looks at you."

"He _doesn't_ look at me," Beth points out to her mother.

Annette gives her a soft smile and tucks hair again behind her ear. "A look can just take a second, Bethy. And in that second, he looks at you like the sun rises and sets with you."

Beth stares at her mother as if waiting to see if Annette is just joking with her but Annette just keeps giving her that soft smile of hers and then picks up her knife again, resuming at cutting the onions and she sings along with the Pied Pipers song now playing on the radio.

Beth looks at her mother for another moment before her eyes flew towards the back windows and the screen door Daryl has gone through. Her heart is beating so quickly now, it's practically hurting, feeling as if it's bruising her ribcage and threatening to break through.

She plays her mother's words over and over in her head on repeat and she wants to believe them to be true. _Desperately_ wants to believe them. She just doesn't know if she can because although she thinks her mother is a very bright woman, Beth doesn't see how she can be right about this in particular. Daryl just doesn't seem to like her at all.

…

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 **Thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	3. You're Here at Last

**Holy shit. That's really all I can say right now in regards to the response to this story. I honestly had no idea so many of you would be enjoying it this much. Thank you so, so much for all of the reviews and the art work people have already made after just two chapters. I hope you keep loving this story. This chapter is actually the idea that popped into my head a couple of weeks ago and had me building an entire story around it.**

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…

 **Chapter Three**. You're Here at Last.

"You ever think 'bout gettin' married?" Daryl asks.

Shane Walsh, sitting on the stool beside him, snorts into his mug of beer. "Why would I think 'bout doin' somethin' crazy like that?"

Daryl shrugs and doesn't answer.

Shane is from Georgia, too – the same county – and they had both served in the same company in the war. Daryl considers him a friend – a good friend – though he knows if it hadn't been for fighting together, he never would have put himself in the same company as Shane Walsh. Facing death every day together and experiencing things that most people could never understand tends to forge a bond between men and form unlikely friendships.

Shane lives nearby and has picked up his former career of a police officer that he had been before the war. He and Daryl meet for beers a couple of times a month whenever Shane's schedule lets him. After dinner every evening, Daryl's nights are always his.

"Seems like a lot of guys are gettin' married now," Daryl then comments.

"Most guys are idiots, Dixon," Shane retorts back. "Why the hell you want to get married for? You know how many girls there are who just love a returnin' soldier? I have met a few girls already who 'ave been very happy to welcome me home."

Daryl tries not to grimace as he takes a swig from his beer mug. He can just imagine what sorts of girls these are that Shane is talking about. The same girls who used to only pay attention to him and Merle when they went out. The girls who hadn't interested him then and they sure as hell aren't going to interest him now.

And he doesn't know why he's talking about marriage – let alone even thinking about it.

It's not like he's looking to get married. He's never wanted to before; could never imagine himself tied down like that to one woman when he doesn't even like people all that much. Maybe it's just the war. Guys go off for years and come home, realizing how short life can actually be, and they want to be with someone. Someone who will hold them and kiss them and be in love with them and… it really don't sound _that_ bad but still, Daryl can't imagine it for someone like him.

And he definitely isn't imagining a wife with blonde hair and the prettiest smile he bets Rita Hayworth wishes she had. That's the dumbest thing he can think.

…

The town has always had a Fourth of July carnival according to Hershel but this year, it's bigger than ever, and Hershel makes Daryl promise him that he is going to go and just not stay in his cabin for the night.

When Daryl arrives at the park where the carnival is, he sees it's a typical carnival with rides and food and game booths and there is a band playing in the gazebo with a few couples dancing on the makeshift dance floor.

He stands at the edge of it all and lights a cigarette, wondering where Hershel is. He wants the man to see him there so he can just leave. He's never liked this kind of thing. Especially now. Crowds and too much damn noise and he'd rather be home, lying on his bed, reading his book and listening to nothing but the quiet.

Enough people don't seem to appreciate the quiet.

…

He's just lit his second cigarette when Dale appears beside him. Daryl looks at him, waiting for him to start talking, but Dale doesn't say anything. Just gives him a smile and continues eating the hot dog he has in his hand. And realizing that the man isn't going to talk, Daryl relaxes again and continues smoking his cigarette.

And that's when she finds him. She seems to come out of nowhere, the crowds parting just for her as if it's the Red Sea and her eyes settle on him and she bursts into a smile that seems to take over her entire face.

"Daryl, you came," Beth says, coming up to him, and she sounds so happy to see him.

He looks at her for a moment – at the white dress she is wearing and her hair hanging down her back, a few of the locks pinned back from her face as she usually wears it while on the farm. He can't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Thought your mama thought wearin' your hair down wasn't proper," he says.

She smiles at that. "My mama's a little old fashioned when it comes to some things." Beth looks over her shoulder towards the band and the dancing and she looks back to him.

Before she even opens her mouth, he knows what she's going to ask and he's already tense.

"Would you like to dance with me, Daryl?" Beth asks.

He immediately shakes his head and glances down to the ground as he takes a drag of his cigarette. "Don't dance," he grunts.

"It doesn't have to be for an entire song. Just a quick-"

"I said no," he says, a bit harsher, his eyes meeting hers, and he immediately feels like shit because she flinches a little at his hard tone.

But still, Beth does her best to keep smiling. "Alright," she says and she takes a small step back. "I hope you have fun at the carnival, Daryl. Good evening, Mr. Horvath."

"Good evening, Beth," Dale says and Daryl watches as Beth turns and steps away, disappearing into the crowd again. "Son, let me give you some advice," Dale then says and Daryl glances at him before down to the ground, pretending to be putting all of his concentration in smoking his cigarette. "When a girl like Beth comes around and asks you to dance with her, you don't do something stupid like tell that girl no."

Daryl's lifts his head and turns it to the older man. "Don't she have a boy or someone else to dance with her?" He asks because who the hell was that boy at the farm she had run to?

Dale shakes his head. "Beth doesn't have a fella in her life." He then smiles at him. "Though it seems like she's looking at you to fill that spot."

Daryl can't help but frown as he moves his eyes and tries to find Beth in the crowd.

When he says he doesn't dance, he really means that he _can't_ dance and he doesn't want to be stepping all over Beth's feet in front of other people, showing them all how inept he is to be holding that girl in his arms.

But he thinks of the way she had asked him, looking all hopeful at him with those big eyes of her, and he wishes he had watched which direction she had gone off into.

…

He finds her on the edge of the dance floor, watching the other dancing couples, and he hesitates, watching her back. Her fingers are curled into the hem of her dress and he can see the slight sway of her body as she moves to the band playing, and he exhales a deep breath.

He approaches her and hesitates for just another moment before he reaches out and taps her on the shoulder. She instantly turns and when she sees that it's him, her eyes widen and her lips part as if she's going to say something but she keeps silent.

Daryl doesn't say anything either. Without a word, he reaches down and takes her hand, clasping it and pulling her gently onto the floor.

He feels sick to his stomach as she stands in front of him and looks up at him and he wonders if she has any idea that he has no clue what he's doing. And she must because she gives him a small smile – not cruel or amused. Just a kind Beth smile like every other smile she gives.

She takes his hand then and guides it to the small of her back and she steps in a little closer to him, taking her hand and resting it on his shoulder. And then, she takes her other hand and clasps it with his remaining free one. She smiles up at him and keeps her eyes locked with his and Daryl has no problem looking at nothing but her.

She's small and warm and Daryl can't remember ever having his hands on something better.

A woman steps up to the microphone then and begins to sing a slow song.

…

 _"Long ago and far away, I dreamed a dream one day._

 _And now that dream is here beside me._

 _Long the skies were overcast,_

 _But now the clouds have passed, you're here at last._

 _Chills run up and down my spine, Aladdin's lamp is mine._

 _The dream I dreamed was not denied me._

 _Just one look and then I knew,_

 _That all I longed for long ago was you."_

…

They don't move that much. Just kind of sway back and forth and their eyes never move from the other. Daryl can hardly hear the music or the words being sung or the other loud sounds of the carnival around them.

He stares at Beth and all he can hear is the loud drumming of his own heart in his ears. He can't remember ever hearing it beat like this. In all of his time in the war, he can't remember ever being scared like this.

…

When the song ends, his hands are slow to fall away from her body.

She gives him a small smile. "Thank you for dancing with me," she says.

He nods, his stomach still rolling, and his hands buzzing as if he's still touching her. "You wanna take a walk with me?" He asks before he can get himself to keep quiet.

Beth's smile is instant. "Yes," she says and she sounds almost breathless and he finds himself being brave enough to put his hand on the small of her back as he leads her from the floor.

…

"Look, Daryl," she says, her hand on his arm, and he is quick to look at what she's pointing to. "Look how cute they are. I've asked daddy before if we can get pigs at the farm."

He sees her talking about one of the game booths set up and the stuffed pig animals that are hanging as prizes. He looks to see what kind of game it is and without a word to her, he strides towards it, hearing her hurrying to keep up behind him.

"Well, there, step right up, son," the game barker grins at him. "Six shots for a nickel. You hit all of the bottles, and you can get your lil' lady here a prize."

Daryl glances to Beth standing beside him and he looks back to the barker. He pulls a nickel out of his pocket, handing it to him, before picking up the toy shotgun. He studies it for a moment and tests the weight in his hands. He then looks at the six plastic milk bottles lined up a few feet away and he rests the butt of the gun against his shoulder and takes aim. Within seconds, he fires the gun six times and six bottles are knocked over.

Beth is laughing softly beside him and he looks at her, seeing her face practically glowing with her smile up at him, and he feels himself smiling a little, too.

The barker, however, is frowning. "You fight in the war?" He asks.

"He did," Beth answers before Daryl can and he looks at her because she sounds so damn proud when she says that.

"You damn soldier boys are cleaning me out tonight," the barker grumbles and then sighs. "Which prize you want, lil' lady?" He asks.

Beth looks to Daryl and he smirks a little.

"He's not talkin' to me," Daryl says and Beth smiles, almost giggles, and then points to one of the stuffed pink pigs.

When the barker hands it to her, Beth hugs it tightly to her chest and looks up at Daryl.

"Thank you, Daryl," she says and he stands there, stone still, as she pushes herself up on her toes and kisses him on the cheek.

…

He can't help but jump a little when the first firework explodes over their heads because it sounds just like a shell from the war that he had heard booming around him for the past three years. His heart immediately begins pounding in his chest and he exhales a shaky breath.

Beth looks at him and she doesn't ask if he's alright.

Instead, she's standing beside him and she reaches over, slipping her hand into his, twining her fingers with his, and he stands there, feeling himself holding on.

…

After the fireworks show is finished, Daryl drives her back to the farm in the pickup truck and pulling in front of the house, he sees that a few of the lights inside are still on, signaling that either her pops or mama or perhaps both are still awake and probably waiting for her.

He gets out and goes around, opening the door for her, and she slides out, smiling up at him.

"This was one of the best nights of my life," she says to him softly.

He smirks at that because it just sounds stupid to him and he wonders what kind of life she's lived so far if spending an evening with him puts it up there as one of the best. He's shitty company and he knows he is and he looks at her because he just can't figure her out.

"Good night, Daryl," she then speaks again. "Thank you for everything."

"G'night," he says and keeps looking at her because she keeps looking at him and it's obvious what she wants him to do.

This girl is looking like a girl who wants to be kissed.

Daryl doesn't make any such move towards her to do that though. If she wants to be kissed, she needs to find someone else to do it because he won't. He _can't_. And she should get that. He just works for her old man and he's nothing more than a dirty guy with dirty hands who cleans up horse shit. He was stupid enough to put his hands anywhere on her tonight but he's not going to be stupid enough to put his lips on her.

He doubts Hershel would ever be happy if that happened.

Beth doesn't seem to be thinking that though because she steps towards him, putting herself so much closer to him, and her chin tilts up slightly, her eyes looking into his, silently asking him to lower his head towards her.

Daryl shakes his head and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Ain't gonna happen, Beth," he speaks the thought out loud and pushes him back a step away from her.

The hurt across her face is obvious. "Why not?"

He doesn't answer her. He just shakes his head. "It ain't ever gonna happen."

"Why not?" She asks again and he can see tears starting to brim in her eyes but there's a hardness in her voice and a tenseness in her shoulders and he can tell she's getting angry, too.

Good. Angry is a lot better than tears, in his opinion. He'll take anger any day.

"You don't need to be wastin' your time with a guy like me," he tells her.

"A guy like you?" She echoes. "What do you mean by that?"

"A guy who ain't never gonna want you," he says and he wonders if it sounds convincing but it must because Beth takes a quick step back as if he's just struck her.

He stares at her and he wonders what the hell he just did. The regret is immediate and it takes him aback him because he can't remember too many things he's done in this life that he's actually felt bad over. But saying that to Beth and pushing her away, he wishes he could take it back because the truth is, this has been the best night of his entire life and it's because of her.

He's never been especially bright but he's not particularly stupid and he knows that nights like this don't come along too often. Girls like Beth aren't just going to show up.

"Beth," he begins to say.

But she's already thrown the stuffed pig down to the ground at his feet and is spinning away. She only gets on the bottom step of the porch before Daryl reaches out and snatches her hand, stopping her. He spins her around so she's looking at him, their faces even, and her cheeks are wet but her eyes are on fire and his hand is still clutching hers.

"I'm a shitty liar," he says.

And that's all he says and Beth opens her mouth to respond but for once, Daryl finds himself not wanting to hear her voice. Instead, he tugs on her and she nearly falls into him before his arms bind tightly around her waist and he presses his lips to hers too hard but he can't bring himself to ease up.

He feels her hands on his chest and he expects her to push him away but instead, her fingers curl into the material of his shirt and her lips begin pressing back against his. His arms tighten around her waist and he holds her as close to him as he can.

He's been on this farm for a handful of weeks now and in that entire time, since the first time he laid eyes on her, he's been imagining what Beth Greene tastes like and now that he's finally kissing her, he doesn't find himself to be too surprised by what he discovers.

Beth Greene tastes like apples and like what he imagines actual sunshine to taste like.

…

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 **Thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	4. Flutters

**I have posted this on my tumblr:** Marriage rates rose sharply in the 1940s and reached all-time highs. After World War II, Americans began to marry at a younger age: the average age of a person at their first marriage dropped to 22.5 years for males and 20.1 for females, down from 24.3 for males and 21.5 for females in 1940.

 **There is a reason Beth and Daryl are moving so quickly in this story and it will play out through the rest of the chapters. THANK YOU so, so much for the love and support of this story after just three chapters. I cannot thank you all enough.**

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…

 **Chapter Four.**

She can't stop smiling. All morning, it's been there, permanent on her face, and she wonders if it will ever go away.

She takes a bath, washing her hair, smiling and humming the whole time. She towels herself off and dries her hair and gets dressed, smiling and humming the whole time. She looks outside and can see a pretty strong breeze blowing that day so she stands in front of the mirror and braids her hair as she smiles.

Beth Dixon. Mrs. Beth Dixon. Mrs. Daryl Dixon.

Alright, she laughs at herself. She needs to slow down a little. _A lot_. It had just been a kiss. One of the most amazing, earth-moving kisses this planet has probably ever seen but still. Just a kiss. One kiss. And one kiss didn't lead to marriage and a lifetime together. And love.

What if when she sees Daryl at breakfast, he doesn't smile or even look at her? What if he acts as if nothing had happened last night? What if to him, nothing did happen?

Her smile begins dropping a little.

No, she scolds herself. She is going to keep on smiling because last night had been the best night of her life and no matter what happens from here on out, it will still be the best.

She comes down the stairs and her mama is already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Beth is humming to herself as she goes and puts on her apron and she lifts her eyes to see Annette looking at her with an amused smile.

"You're happy this morning," Annette notes.

Beth just keeps on smiling and even though she considers her mama to not only be her mother but also one of her closest friends, Beth wants to keep this to herself for a little longer. She's sure everyone will find out soon enough.

…

Breakfast is every morning at seven-thirty and Otis and daddy are already at the table, Annette pouring cups of coffee and orange juice, and Beth is pulling the biscuits hot from the oven when the screen door opens. She instantly turns her head to look at Daryl as he enters.

She has no idea how he is going to react to seeing her and he falls still for a moment, standing there, looking at her as she looks at him.

But then, his lips twitch a little and the tips of his ears turn red and her own smile bursts forth at the sight of it. She begins humming again as she brings the biscuits to the table.

…

After the men head outside to begin their day's work, Beth helps Annette clean the kitchen and she then takes a basket, heading outside to feed the chickens and to collect fresh eggs. Her feet are bare as she crosses the grass and even though the breeze blowing is a little cold – unseasonably so for July – the grass is warm from being baked in the sun since its rise.

She is still smiling and she wants to laugh at herself because her cheeks are actually starting to hurt a little but she can't seem to make herself stop.

She remembers when the army officer arrived at their farm one afternoon, baring the news of Shawn's death. She'll always remember the way her mother fell onto her knees and screamed and the way her father had begun openly weeping. It had been the worst day in the Greene family and Beth remembers the way she had sat there for hours afterwards, feeling numb and wondering if she would ever be happy again. How could she ever be happy again when her brother was dead and gone and never coming home?

But then months later, her daddy brought Daryl Dixon back to the farm with him and today, Beth can't stop smiling. Months later, Beth's found herself in love.

She knows, without a doubt in her mind, that she's in love.

…

She's coming away from the chicken coops just as Daryl's coming out of the barn, work gloves on his hands and a sledgehammer slung over his shoulder. He's just in his pants and white undershirt, his dog tags slightly visible through the sweat-stained cotton. She stops when she sees him and he stops, too. For a moment, neither of them move or speak.

She then smiles faintly with her heart fluttering in the base of her throat. "Hi."

Daryl doesn't say anything. He looks over his shoulder towards the house and then back towards the barn. Still, without a word, he reaches forward and gently grabs a hold of her elbow and she bubbles with laughter as he pulls her into the barn.

…

She's being pressed gently against the wall of the barn, right inside the door, the basket of eggs still in her hand and the work gloves still on his. His mouth is moving insistently against hers but he's kissing her in such a gentle way, it's make her whole head feel light. He tastes like coffee and sweat and Beth presses her lips a bit harder against his, wanting a deeper taste. And as if he can read her mind, he slips his tongue past her parted lips into her mouth.

She moans softly and her free hand slips down from his hair to the back of his neck.

She has never had a kiss like this before in her life, has never _dreamed_ of being kissed like this, and she doesn't want him to stop for anything; not even as her lungs begin burning at the lack of oxygen they are receiving. She can honestly care less about that right now.

She wants to be kissed like this forever; wants to feel no other man's lips except for Daryl's.

But Daryl's lips are suddenly gone and she is shocked from the whimper of protest that rises from her throat – she's never made such a sound before in her life – and her lips follow after his, seeking them out again. Her eyes flutter open and he is looking at her, studying her almost as if he doesn't quite know how he wound up here.

"Otis wasn't too far behind me," he says and his voice sounds rougher than usual and it nearly makes her shiver. "Can't be doin' this right now," he then adds and she nods, knowing that she's frowning but she can't help it.

She knows he's right and she releases a small sigh. "Alright."

She holds the basket of eggs with both hands and Daryl takes a step back, putting a respectable amount of space between their two bodies though she knows it doesn't matter how much room there is. She can still feel the heat radiating off his body and she wonders how his body can be like a furnace. She could never imagine being cold again as long as he is around.

"Will you meet me in the orchard tonight?" She blurts out suddenly.

Daryl doesn't say anything and stares at her.

"After dinner?" She adds.

Daryl keeps staring at her and then, nods his ever so slightly. "After dinner."

…

She expects the rest of the day to crawl by and feel as if night will never come but after bringing in the eggs, she helps Annette pull the rugs from the rooms outside and Beth spends most of the day, beating them and laying them back into the rooms until her arms feel as if they are going to fall off. And then she helps with preparations for dinner.

Her daddy, Otis – staying for dinner – and Daryl come in, each dirty and sweaty from having been replacing posts in the fence on the far side of the farm for the whole day and Beth is quick to get them glasses of water as Annette begins scooping them plates of the tuna casserole and slices of the fresh bread they had baked that morning.

Hershel says grace and Beth sits across from Daryl at the table, amazed she's able to get any food inside of her mouth because all she can do is look at him every few seconds and hope no one else is able to notice.

Daryl seems to be a much better actor than her. He is able to eat his meal and answer Hershel's comments and questions towards him with his usual grunts and no one is any the wiser that he occasionally looks at Beth across from him and she swears his eyes spark a little each time he makes contact with her.

"You don't mind, do you, Daryl?" Hershel is asking and Beth brings herself to the conversation though she has no idea what is being talked about.

"Not at all, sir," Daryl responds and Beth looks at him, wondering what he's agreeing to but she reminds herself that she can ask him within the hour.

She bows her head to her plate and smiles faintly to herself. All she can think about now is kissing Daryl again. She can't wait to kiss him again. It's all she wants to do and she wonders how other girls are able to function in their every day life once they have fallen in love with a man because now that she has kissed Daryl and knows how he tastes and feels, it's like this is her purpose in life; getting as much of him as she can. It's so silly and ridiculous and yet, after everything for the past few years that had happened in this world, this is something beautiful and she hopes it can last forever.

…

"What's with you not likin' shoes, girl?" Daryl mutters against her mouth and she laughs breathlessly against his lips, one of her hands on the back of his head, fingers scratching through the short hairs there, and her other hand rests on his chest, rubbing against the dog tags beneath his shirt. "You're gonna step on somethin' and I'll have to carry you back."

"That's my plan," she smiles a little.

His lips twist in his own small smile and she looks at it and realizes that he needs to smile more because when he does, he's absolutely beautiful.

"How do you think I'll explain that one to your pops?" He asks her.

Beth just keeps on smiling and presses her lips to his in another kiss.

She told her parents that she was going to take a walk for some fresh air and she hates lying to her parents and she doesn't want to lie to them but she doesn't know when she and Daryl will tell them about this. They haven't talked about it. They haven't talked about anything. There has only been kissing and light touching and she certainly doesn't mind but she hopes that eventually, they will talk but she isn't going to complain that they're doing this.

He presses her against one of the trees, the low branches brushing the top of her head and he has to keep himself ducked beneath them. She lifts her arms, wrapping them around his neck, bringing him in closer, moaning as he kisses her a little bit harder in response.

"I don't know anything about you," she hears herself whisper to him.

"What do you want to know?" Daryl murmurs back as one of his hands lifts to her head and she feels her hair in his fingers.

"Everything," she breathes.

"There's not that much 'bout me that's pretty," he then says, pulling his head back, his eyes looking to her face.

She shakes her head slightly and her fingers begin to rub the back of his neck. She's not sure about anything she's doing but she's doing what feels right to her and he seems to have no problem with it, the way he leans in a little closer to her, his forehead resting against hers, his eyes almost sliding shut at her touch.

"That doesn't matter to me," she tells him in a whisper.

And it doesn't and it shouldn't.

"Tell me something," she then says and she can hear she's almost pleading with him because she's with this man in her family's apple orchard in the darkness, his hands on her and her hands on him, her lips still burning from his kisses, and she wants to know that this isn't all wrong.

It can't possibly be wrong though because she's never felt warmth or happiness like this before in her life. And it's all because of this man standing in front of her. He smells like sweat and dirt and summer and cigarette smoke and so many different things, it makes her feel like her head is spinning.

She wonders what she smells like to him.

"Daryl," she whispers his name then. "Tell me _anything_."

And he pulls his head back and looks at her for a long moment – studies her. "I'm thinkin' that I wanna ask you somethin'," he says and just like that, she feels her heart stop beating.

She blinks at him and tries to tell herself that it's not what she's thinking. There are thousands of other things he could want to ask her and it isn't necessarily _that_. It can't be that. They've just met. They've just kissed. He can't possibly mean… she wants it though, she knows and knows there's no point in denying it. She wants him to mean _that_ question and she doesn't care that it's just been days or weeks or however long it should be for all of this to make sense and be proper.

"Yes," she breathes out and nods quickly and Daryl's lips twitch in a smile.

"Is that you tellin' me I should ask or you answerin' the question I haven't asked?" He wonders.

Beth tightens her arms around his neck and she presses her back more firmly against the apple tree behind her, pulling him in closer to her.

"Yes," she breathes again just a second before his mouth covers hers.

…

She's read about it so many times.

Love at first sight.

And she has sat on the window-seat in her bedroom, a book in her hands, her eyes eagerly devouring the words printed in front of her and she would daydream about that happening to her. She wanted a love story of her own.

She's always believed in love at first sight. She's always believed in soul mates and that somewhere, out there, there is a man meant just for her.

And she knows that person for her is Daryl Dixon. There isn't a single part of her that doubts it. She doesn't know nearly enough about him; knows hardly anything about him and yet, there is just something she feels in her chest every time she sees him. Got it from the very first moment her daddy brought him back to farm. It's a tug, it's a pull, as if someone has tied a string around her heart and is trying to wrench it forward.

She's never experienced it before but she knows it's love. She knows she fell in love with Daryl Dixon the first time she saw him and maybe, just maybe, he fell in love with her at first sight, too. It's a beautiful thought.

…

"Bethy? Can you come in here, please?"

Beth takes a deep breath. She's been waiting for this and she smoothes her hands down the skirt of her dress, not feeling nervous but rather anxious. She has no idea how this will go.

She makes sure not to keep her daddy waiting and she hurries into the living room. He's sitting in his chair, his crutches propped beside him, and he gives her a warm smile which she takes as a very good sign.

"Daryl spoke with me this morning after breakfast," Hershel begins.

Beth nods but doesn't say anything. She already knows that Daryl was going to speak with her daddy this morning.

He had seemed nervous and unsure but he hadn't taken back what he had said the night before in the orchard. Not once did he act like he didn't mean what he said and Beth wanted to assure him that there is no reason to be scared of her daddy but Daryl just shook his head. He was going to talk to the man about marrying his youngest daughter. No father would make that easy on the man asking.

"You hardly know him, Bethy," Hershel then says and it's not said angrily or coldly. It is simply the stating of a fact; a fact that Beth can't argue.

She nods. "Yes, but… I know enough. He's a good man, daddy."

"He is," Hershel nods his head once and his eyes are set up on her, his lips twisted upwards in a slight smile, which Beth takes to be a very good sign. She almost smiles, too, but she doesn't want to get too confident and continues standing there, her fingers twisting in the hem of her skirt. "I think he will be good to you."

"He will be," Beth is quick to nod and there is no doubt in her mind.

Hershel continues as if she hadn't said anything. "He's a hard worker. He's quiet and respectful. And I think any man who volunteers to fight for his country is a good man."

He falls quiet then and Beth stands there, feeling her stomach rolling over and over again and she wishes that he would say something else. She wishes she knew what Daryl had said that morning to him and what Hershel's initial reaction had been to it.

"You're in love with him," Hershel then states.

"I am," Beth answers immediately even though it hadn't been a question.

Hershel's lips then spread into a wider smile. "Then you have my permission to marry him."

Beth immediately bursts into a smile, almost laughing and crying at the same time, and she flies forward, bending down and throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank you, daddy. Thank you." She kisses his cheek and Hershel is laughing. "I'm going to go tell Daryl."

"He's out in the northern field. Took the cows out there after our talk," Hershel tells her but Beth hardly hears him as she runs from the house, heading straight for Daryl.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	5. The Start

…

 **Chapter Five.**

He thinks of his mother. Of her black and blue and limping body and the way her eyes had been dead years before she took her last breath. He thinks of how his old man had treated her and his sons and how sometimes, Daryl takes off his belt at night and hears the clinking of it and his blood begins to run colder and the scars on his back that are so old now start to throb.

And then he thinks of Beth. Of the way her eyes shine and the way her smile warms him from the inside out and how she looks up at him as if he's everything she's ever loved in this world; at the way she seems to practically glow with her happiness when she's around him.

He walks into the house a few evenings after they become engaged and he hears someone playing the piano. Annette is in the kitchen and she smiles when she sees him and then gestures towards the living room. Daryl walks towards the room and then stops in the doorway when he sees that it's Beth sitting at the piano, playing a song, her fingers flying over the keys, and then she starts to sing and he's never heard anything more beautiful.

He looks at the paleness of her skin and the pink of her cheeks and the blonde of her hair and he listens to her sing and there's practically an aura of good and beauty surrounding her.

He watches her and starts to feel his back throb again. He's not like his dad. Had never been. And Merle had spent years calling him the good Dixon; the sweetie of the family. But he watches Beth and he's scared that he won't be able to keep her good and beautiful; that he'll be like the Dixons before him and beat that out of her.

…

He's brushing down the horses before dinner when he hears a familiar thump across the wooden floorboards of the barn and lifting his head, he sees Hershel coming his way on his crutches. The man is smiling and he always reminds Daryl of an actual Santa Claus.

"Was just talking with Beth," Hershel tells him. "I think it makes sense for her to move into the cabin with you instead of you moving into the house with us. I know it's small but it's important for newlyweds to have their own space."

Daryl nods in agreement and tries not to sigh with relief.

He has been hoping that that's what they would all come to an agreement about because while he likes Hershel and Annette, he's not looking to live in their house with them and his new wife. He and Beth barely know one another and he wants the chance to get to know her in their own space without peering eyes and curious ears.

…

Beth has packed some of her things and Otis helps him carry it all down from the house to the cabin. Annette and Hershel have already given them a few wedding presents – some things for the kitchen, a new goose-down comforter for the bed and two new goose-down pillows and a vase that apparently has been in the Greene family since before they immigrated to this country from Ireland a few generations before.

Beth fills it with wildflowers and places it in the middle of the kitchen table and Daryl puts the suitcases near the bed for now, having no idea where they'll put everything.

"We're gonna have to get you a wardrobe," he muses as he looks at the small space. "Need a place to hang your dresses."

"I can always leave the dresses up in my closet in the house," Beth suggests but Daryl gives her a look as if she's crazy.

"Why would you leave 'em there? You're gonna be livin' here and you can't be runnin' up there every mornin' in your underwear to get dressed," he says and she laughs, nodding her head in agreement. "I'll make you somethin'," he then promises her.

And he looks at the way she smiles then and he promises to himself right then and there that he is going to spend the rest of his life, trying to make her smile like that at least once a day.

…

When he tells Shane, he's expecting his reaction.

"Why the hell are you goin' and gettin' yourself married?" Shane asks, his face screwed up as if he had just passed a landfill and smelled something disgusting.

Daryl shrugs then, pausing to take a drink from his mug of beer, not looking at him. "I think 'm in love with her."

Shane snorts. "You probably aren't. Probably just lonely and like her company. There's a difference, Dixon."

And Daryl wants to tell him that he's wrong but he doesn't because the truth is he's never been in love so he only assumes that the warmth he feels whenever he's with Beth is love and not just loneliness.

"Will you come?" Daryl asks. "I'm gonna want you there."

Shane sighs and takes a swig of beer. "Yeah, man. Course I'll be there."

…

"Maggie's not able to make it down at the end of the month," Beth tells him as he's pulling on the rope and lifting bales of hay up into the loft of the barn where Otis is to collect them.

He's just wearing his white undershirt and Beth is sitting on a nearby overturned bucket and he pretends not to notice the way she's watching the muscles in his arms.

"Something about Glenn and the store and she can come down in August. She really wants to meet you," she then adds as if he was wondering.

And it's not as if he doesn't want to meet his sister-in-law, too. He knows how much Beth loves her older sister but the truth is, it's not like he _has_ to meet her. He's marrying Beth. Not Maggie and the only thing he imagines getting from an older sibling is disapproval.

But he hears the faint disappointment in Beth's voice and it would be impossible not to notice it.

"You wanna hold off?" He asks her, pausing in his work to look at her, wiping an arm across his sweaty brow. "Wait until she can get here so she can see us get married?"

Beth almost gasps at the suggestion. "Absolutely not. We're getting married at the end of the month. I don't want you changing your mind."

He looks at her as she says that and she's smiling a little but he doesn't see the joke.

"I ain't goin' anywhere, Beth," he tells her then in a quiet voice and her face softens as she looks at him.

"I know," she then tells him in a matching soft tone. "I really don't want to hold off though. I can't wait to become your wife."

He smirks then and the seriousness of the moment has passed. "Knew you were soft in the head from the second I saw you," he joked and she picks up a handful of hay from the floor and does her best to throw it at him.

…

He meets Jimmy the day of the wedding. He's in the cabin, buttoning the last button of his formal army uniform when there's a knock on the door and he goes to answer it.

"Hi," Jimmy is standing there in a suit and greeting him as if he's supposed to be there. He steps into the cabin though as if Daryl's invited him and he takes a look around. "Not bad. Beth will make this a home in no time."

Daryl is standing there, staring at him, and Jimmy turns to face him; gives him a grin.

"They kicked me out of the house and sent me down here to see if you needed help," Jimmy then explained to him.

Daryl takes a moment to study the kid. And he's still very much a kid. Tall and lanky with a baby face. Beth has explained her friendship with Jimmy; how he's her best friend and since the death of her own brother, Jimmy has somewhat taken over that role. And even though he's just some boy, Daryl knows he's important to Beth so he's not going to be rude even though he would have been an asshole to this boy without even blinking an eye before Beth.

"'m good," he grunts.

"You gonna brush your hair?" Jimmy asks with a grin, which only widens as Daryl walks past him into the bathroom, muttering as he does. "How old are you by the way?" He asks.

Daryl is reluctant to answer but he does anyway. "Thirty-four."

He tries not to feel like some damn dirty, old man.

He expects Jimmy to make a comment but all Jimmy does is "mmm" and nod his head as if he's already known the answer.

"Do I have to give you the speech?" He asks as Daryl comes out of the bathroom.

"Speech?" Daryl frowns at him.

"The 'you hurt her and I'll kill you' speech," Jimmy clarifies, staring Daryl dead in the eye.

And Daryl smirks a little and shakes his head though he immediately feels more respect for Jimmy Campbell than he ever would have thought because the boy is standing there, looking as intimidating as he possibly can and he is meaning the words and thinly veiled threat.

"Nah," Daryl tells him. "You never have to give me that speech," he answers honestly.

He'll cut his hand off before he ever even thinks about raising it to Beth.

Jimmy breaks into a smile again and nods. "Good. You have my approval."

And Daryl smirks again. "Was real nervous 'bout that," he says.

"I would have been," Jimmy agreed before leaving the cabin with Daryl behind him.

…

Hershel and Annette are active in their community's church and the Reverend is only too happy to marry their youngest daughter and her soldier veteran fiancé.

Shane is there as promised and besides Annette and Jimmy sitting in the front pew, Otis and his wife, Patricia, are there as well as Dale and his wife and Beth's closest female friend, Rosita – who he's just formerly met that morning as well.

There is also Lori Grimes, who he recognizes as the librarian, and her husband, Rick, and their son, Carl, and baby daughter, Judith. The Grimes are family friends of the Greene's and Rick is a sheriff in the county, too. But Daryl doesn't ask Shane if he and Rick know one another. Rick is too busy glaring at Shane and Shane is too busy looking at Lori and Daryl knows that's a whole mess he's not going to get himself involved in.

The doors at the back of the church open and there's Beth with Hershel beside her and Daryl suddenly feels sick to his stomach. Beth is wearing a white dress with lace sleeves and instead of a veil, there is a wreath of flowers resting on top of her head. And she's worn her hair down, the sun filtering in through the windows and reflecting off the blonde and he's standing there, actually feeling the room sway a little.

He once saw a man being blown up right in front of him but that didn't make him feel faint or sick the way he is feeling now as Beth walks up the aisle to him, her eyes never leaving his and her smile permanent on her face.

…

He's never pictured himself getting married. He's never liked people all that much and he's never imagined himself being able to stand being around one for the rest of his life.

But Beth stands in front of him, smiling up at him, and he's holding her hands and he's not able to look away from her eyes and he doesn't hear a single word the Reverend is saying. He's getting married to this girl – _woman_ – standing in front of him and the way she's smiling, he knows she doesn't want to have anyone else standing there in his place. And he knows he definitely can't imagine anyone else standing where she is.

The Reverend has to clear his throat and Daryl snaps out of it long enough to slip the ring onto Beth's finger as he repeats the vows and Beth does the same as she puts a ring on his finger. He stares down at it for a moment, suddenly missing his brother like hell. It's his wedding day and Merle should be here.

"You may now kiss the bride," the Reverend smiles once he announces them as man and wife and Daryl looks at her and Beth is beaming and he takes one final big breath.

He then steps into her and lowers his lips to hers and he feels her still smiling against his.

…

There is a wedding luncheon at the farm for everyone. Daryl had gone out and shot down a few ducks the day before and now, Annette has roasted those and everyone eats their share of duck and mashed potatoes and biscuits and fresh corn and green beans and there's so much food, everyone is sitting in their chairs after the meal, stuffed, groaning a little as Annette reminds them that there's still cake but they all have no problem eating a slice.

Hershel clears his throat to make a speech and Daryl's not sure why but he sits there, feeling nervous, and as if Beth knows this, she smiles faintly and slides her hand into his.

"Daryl, I knew from the moment I saw you that you were a good man," Hershel says. "And you have done nothing in your time here but prove that to me every day in a thousand ways. You're just not a good man. You're the best man that I could ever ask for to care for and love my Bethy. And Annette and I couldn't be happier to welcome you into our family as another son. May you and Beth have the happiest life together."

Hershel raised his glass then as did the others, all wishing congratulations and clinking their glasses together, and Beth leans into Daryl and kisses him on the cheek.

…

It's just after sunset as Daryl and Beth start heading towards the cabin and after opening the door, Daryl is quick to swoop her up in his arms and carry her over the threshold inside.

"Saw that in a movie once," he says and she laughs as he sets her down again.

Even he's surprised by how quick he moves because the instant the door is closed, he turns to her and kisses her, his hands on her cheeks, stepping against her and guiding her towards the bed. He reminds himself that this is her first time and he needs to go slow but Beth is kissing him just as eagerly and when he lowers her onto the bed, she pulls him right down with her.

…

Damn women and their undergarments.

He's muttering to himself and Beth is giggling softly, helping him as his fingers fumble. First, he's convinced the wedding dress has a million buttons. And then there's the white silk slip underneath which is easy enough to take off. But then there are stockings and a garter belt and a brassiere. His fingers tremble a little when he unclasps that and looks down at her breasts for the first time. His _wife's_ breasts.

She's lying on the bed, her hair fanned out across the pillow, and he takes a moment to just stare at her. She bites down on her lip and he sees the faint blush spreading across her cheeks.

"I'm…" she pauses and swallows. "I'm not like one of those pinup girls."

Daryl lowers himself on top of her, his eyes locked with hers. "You're better than any of 'em girls," he then says to her in a low voice as his hand slowly moves between her thighs and he watches as she melts beneath him.

…

He's much more hesitant to take his own clothes off but he reminds himself that she needs to see eventually.

And when he takes off his shirt, baring his chest and back to her, Beth sits up and her eyes fly everywhere across his skin and then looks at him with the question in her eyes.

"From the war?" She asks though he can tell she doesn't really think that.

He shakes his head and swallows, looking down rather than looking at her. "My ol' man… he was a mean son of a bitch."

He then slowly lifts his eyes, looks at her, tries to figure out what she's thinking as her eyes look over the scars. He looks for the slightest sign of pity but he can't find any. Instead, he sucks in a breath and his body tenses as Beth moves closer and then her lips touch his back.

Her lips brush against every scar she sees and eventually, he feels his muscles unclench and he hears himself breathing again.

…

It's her first time and she's absolutely terrified. He can tell because she's lying there and he can see her trembling.

He leans over and brushes his lips across hers. "We don't gotta do anythin' tonight, Beth," he tells her in a quiet murmur and her eyes flutter open.

She looks at him silently and he looks at her, prepared to push himself off of her, but then her hand flies up and her fingers curl around his hanging dog tags. Without a word, she pulls him down on top of her.

…

It's been a while for him. There were a couple of girls in France but he didn't speak French and they didn't speak English and what they did only took a few minutes either so talking wasn't exactly necessary between them.

He tries to be slow even though when he first pushes into her, he nearly groans at how warm and wet and tight she is. Her nails dig into his skin and she tenses and tears are gathering at the corners of her eyes and she's hurting.

"Beth," he whispers her name and begins brushing his lips every across her face that he can reach just as she had done with his scars and slowly, he feels her start to relax beneath him.

And just as he's nearing his end, she whispers, "I love you, Daryl" right into his ear and he comes inside of her with a shudder.

…

The day after his wedding, he wakes up in bed alone.

His hand is searching blindly for Beth and when he can't find her, his eyes snap open. The sheets are twisted around him, he's still naked and he's wearing a ring on his finger so he knows he didn't imagine any of what happened yesterday. He lifts his head from the pillow and within a second, he finds her.

Beth is standing across the cabin at the stove in the kitchen area, her back to him. She's wearing his white undershirt and nothing else and he sits up, taking a moment to admire her legs; remembering the way those very legs had been wrapped around his hips during their second time the night before.

And then he smells what she's doing at the stove, the scent of bacon filling the air. His stomach lets out a hungry grumble and he pulls himself from the bed, tugging on his underwear from the floor. She's humming and the bacon's popping and she doesn't hear him.

Daryl stands behind her, hesitating, looking at her before he almost shakes his head at himself. He can do this. He has every right in the world to do this.

And with being reminded of that, he steps to her and slide his arms around her waist from behind. She jumps a little and he can't help but chuckle softly and then she sighs contently as she sinks her back against his chest.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please review!**


	6. Be Yourself

**I started this story so strong and now I just feel so unsure about the whole thing.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Six.**

She's married. She's someone's wife and she has a husband and she feels like she can't stop smiling. In the blink of an eye, her entire life has changed and if she thinks about it, her head will start spinning.

Like most girls her age, she has always imagined herself getting married. She has always wanted to be a wife and mother; remembers being a little girl walking around her parents' bedroom, wearing her mama's wedding veil and humming the bridal march. She just was never able to imagine who the groom would be but believed that she would meet him when she was supposed to.

And that is exactly what happened. Deep down, she knew the instant Daryl returned to the farm that spring day with her daddy. She took one look at him and knew that this was the man she was going to marry. There wasn't a doubt in her mind then and there still isn't a doubt in her mind even after the whirlwind of their two lives becoming one.

If there had been a sliver of doubt before, that would have all been wiped away on her wedding night.

She thinks of it now as Daryl's in the shower and she's brewing the coffee. She thinks of the way he had kissed her and caressed her and moved so slowly and gently with her, knowing she was scared, not wanting to hurt her.

Beth thinks of all of this and feels her cheeks warming at the memories. She's a bit sore this morning but she looks to the bathroom door and listens to the running water and she can't wait until she's lying down again and having her husband above her once more.

…

It's Sunday and her daddy, as a religious man, never has work happening on the farm on Sunday. It is the Lord's Day and the day of rest so once Daryl steps from the bathroom, she is setting the table for breakfast and she smiles at him, her heart drumming quickly in her chest at the sight of him. He is wearing nothing except a towel slung around his waist, his ever-present dog tags hanging around his neck, catching the sun coming in through the window, and lingering water droplets cling to his skin.

"Good morning," she greets, remembering herself. "I have coffee, toast, bacon and I was waiting to fry you a few eggs."

He looks at her and shakes his head. "You don't gotta be makin' me breakfast, Beth."

She can't help but frown a little. "I make you breakfast every morning. I'm not going to stop now. Now get dressed and then come sit down."

Daryl smirks a little and shakes his head before going to the dresser to get some fresh clothes. She turns to the stove where she already has the eggs ready on the counter. She begins humming to herself as she cracks them over the side of the frying pan and when they are done and she has sprinkled them with a little bit of pepper, she turns back around and Daryl is sitting at the table, wearing a pair of boxer shorts and another of his white undershirts but there is nothing in front of him.

He looks at her and clears his throat a little. "Was waitin' for you," he explains and she gives him a small but bright smile.

She scoops two eggs onto his plate and the remaining two on her plate and after returning the frying pan to the stove to be cleaned later, she sits down at the table with him but when she reaches for his cup and the coffee pot, his fingers are quick to wrap around her wrist in a light grip but it's enough to still her movements.

"You can cook me breakfast if you want, but you ain't gonna be servin' me, too," he tells her.

"Daryl-" she begins to protest but the rest of the words die on her lips as he releases her wrist and picks up her coffee cup instead.

She smiles as he pours her some and sets the cup down in front of her before pouring some for himself. She thinks her parents have a good, solid marriage and she knows they love one another deeply but Beth can't remember ever seeing her daddy pour her mama coffee.

…

"I'm think I'm going to make us meatloaf for dinner tonight. And a honey nut cake, too," Beth speaks as they begin to eat their breakfast. "Would that be alright with you?"

Daryl looks at her for a moment, practically studying her, and doesn't say anything. He then says, "I don't want you to do this."

Beth can't help her eyes from widening a little. "Do what?" She wonders.

"I know how some other wives are and you don't gotta be like them."

Beth knows what he's talking about but it's just the way things are. Isn't it? He's her husband and as the wife, this is what she's supposed to do. She is supposed to do the things that take care of him and makes sure that he's happy when he comes home. …Isn't she?

"Well," she pauses to swallow, not entirely too sure what to say. "What should I do?"

"Keep actin' like you," he says.

"And you'll act like you," she quickly adds.

He smirks. "And hopefully, we'll keep likin' each other."

…

Daryl has set a few traps in the woods and after breakfast, he gets dressed to go check to see if he has snagged any animals during the night. Beth washes the dishes from breakfast and then gets herself dressed to go up to the house to see if her mama has an onion she can have.

"Girl, you gotta start wearin' shoes," Daryl tells her as he finishes lacing his own boots.

She giggles a little. "I don't think I will."

He smirks and stands up and Beth can't help but step into him, stepping up on his boots, and Daryl's smirk slides into a smile as his hands rest lightly on her hips. He almost seems as if he's unsure whether or not he can be touching her and she wants to let him know that it is more alright with her if he wants to touch her. She _wants_ him to touch her.

She lifts her arms then loop them around his neck. "Am I hurting you?" She asks.

He lets out a quiet snort. "Hunted bucks that weigh more than you."

His hands grip her hips a little tighter – the material of her dress bunching in his fingers – and his eyes are staring into hers. Suddenly, she has no desire to leave that cabin.

She pushes herself upwards, stretches her neck a bit, and she presses her lips to his. Daryl's response to it is almost immediate and he slants his mouth over hers, kissing her deeper, and his arms slide around her waist, holding her tightly against him.

It seems like he doesn't want to leave the cabin either.

…

It's still uncomfortable but it's just their third time and she knows she'll get used to it.

She has absolutely nothing to compare him to but she figures that her husband is a decent size when it comes to that sort of thing. He's definitely thick and it feels like he's filling up every spare inch she has open inside of her. He's still moving slowly between her thighs, thrusting the entire way in, making her gasp every time he reaches some spot deep within her that she hadn't even known had existed before this.

Her hands clutch his back, feeling the jagged scars beneath her grip, but she doesn't mind those. She knew last night he had been hesitant to show them to her but he had and she had kissed them because she never would have guessed that he had gone through something like that and it broke her heart a little to imagine a little Daryl, being beaten by his daddy. But she knew that as soon as he showed her those scars, she fell in love with him completely, too.

And she feels them now and all she can think of is how brave he is and strong and how he is a survivor. He survived his childhood and he survived the war and he's here with her now and she vows that he'll never know pain like any of that ever again.

"Daryl," she moans out as he speeds up a little and his hand squeezes her breast gently as his mouth scraps down the side of her neck.

He's everywhere at once but at the same time, he's nowhere near and she needs him closer.

Her fingers grip his back tighter and her legs wrap securely around his waist and she moans for him again.

…

They lay there in the minutes afterward, both sweaty and trying to control their rapid breathing, and Beth hears her heart's deafening beats in her ears.

"You're gonna kill me," Daryl mutters from beside her and she can't help but giggle.

But he's the one to roll towards her again and kiss her.

…

"Good _afternoon_ , Mrs. Dixon," Annette smiles as Beth enters the kitchen.

Beth feels herself blush but she can't help but laugh a little. "The day's gotten away from me a bit," she admits.

"As it should the day after your wedding," Annette keeps smiling. "Where's Daryl?"

"He went into the woods for a little bit," Beth answers. "And I am here for an onion. I'm going to make Daryl meatloaf for dinner tonight."

Annette goes to the pantry where the vegetables are cooked. "That husband of yours is going to be a fat man in a few years," she teased.

"I can't imagine so," Beth shakes her head with a smile. "He's too active for that."

"Just remember that your daddy and Otis were skinny young husbands, too, once," Annette gives her a wink and Beth blushes and laughs again. "So?" Annette asks, the jest leaving her tone and looking at her now with serious eyes. "How are you?"

Beth takes the onion she holds out to her. "It really hurt," she admits.

Annette nods knowingly. "My wedding night was so terrible."

"Oh, it wasn't terrible," Beth quickly shakes her head. "Everything else was wonderful. And I'm sure it will get better. Just now…" she cuts herself off with a blush. She has always been able to talk with her mom about everything but this might be getting _too_ personal with her.

And Annette smiles, reading her mind and understanding. She leans in and kisses Beth on the forehead. "It will get better," she promises her and Beth nods, because even though she has told herself that, hearing it from her mother helps with the reassuring.

…

Her fingers work through the pound of raw ground beef, mixing the onion in, as she sings along to the Helen Forrest song playing on the radio.

"Men are not a new sensation/I've done pretty well, I think/But this half-pint imitation/Put me on the blink/I'm wild again/Beguiled again/A simpering, whimpering child again/Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I."

When she molds it into the pan and then goes to the sink to wash her hands, she catches a shape from the corner of her eye and she gasps a little with fright. It's Daryl standing in the doorway of the cabin and she has no idea how long he had been standing there for.

"You need to stop scaring me," she gives him a frown and he chuckles, swinging his crossbow down, resting it against the wall, but before he can take another step, she stops him. "Don't even think about it, Daryl Dixon. You're not bringing that in here," she says in a firm tone and he stops, confused for a moment before he looks down to where she is pointing.

"'s dead," he tells her.

"Exactly. You're not bringing a dead animal into our house," she says.

Daryl keeps frowning, clearly not understanding, but he turns and carries the rabbit back outside. When he comes back inside, he pauses and looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

She laughs a little. "You can come in now." He steps over the threshold and closes the door behind him. "And you need to wash your hands."

"'m gonna regret tellin' you to keep actin' like you, ain't I?" He asks as he goes to the sink.

"Don't worry," she laughs again. "You only have forty or so more years of it and then I'm sure it will be quiet again after that."

Daryl turns the water off and as he reaches for the dishtowel to dry his hands off, he surprises her when he leans in and fuses her lips to his. She remembers herself after a second and pushes her lips back against his. When he pulls his away, her eyes flutter open and he staring intently into hers.

"'m plannin' on gettin' more than forty years," he tells her in a quiet voice.

This time, she is the one to take hold of him and pull him towards their bed.

…

The wind is strong that Wednesday and the sun is warm and the sheets dry in no time. She places her wicker basket at her feet and begin unclipping the bed sheets from the line, folding them before placing them in the basket, humming to herself as she always does as she works.

She hears a sudden whoop cutting through the tranquil air from the barn and she instantly spins towards it. Otis is hurrying from within as fast as a man his size can and he grins widely when he sees her.

"The Japs surrendered. That's it!" He whoops again and moves past her into the house where her daddy and mama are and where they are probably listening to the radio about it as well.

Beth feels herself instantly smiling. That's it? Finally? First Germany and now Japan? VE Day had been such a cause for celebration and a breath of new hope spread throughout the country as soldiers began coming home but there was still that thought in the back of everyone's mind that Japan still might be some treat to them.

And now, it is all over. The war, after all of these years, has finally officially ended.

Beth drops the sheet into the basket and then finds herself running to the barn.

Daryl is in there, listening to the old radio that sits on top of the work bench but he turns his head when he hears her coming. She pauses, smiling at him, feeling breathless as if she has just run miles instead of just a few yards, and he looks at her for a moment before giving her his own smile. And then she closes the rest of the space between them and he grabs her as soon as she's close enough. She laughs as he swings her over to him, lifting her off her feet, and she wraps her arms around his neck as he hold her tightly in his arms.

…

Annette cooks a big dinner that night in celebration and Beth bakes her blueberry pie and everything in the air just feels lighter to them all.

They listen to the news on the radio until the cicadas and crickets are singing outside and Hershel suggests that they all try and get some rest. Daryl takes Beth's hand as they leave the house and start walking down the lawn towards the cabin.

Beth begins to sing. "When Johnny comes marching home again/Hurrah, hurrah/We'll give him a hearty welcome then/Hurrah, hurrah/The men will cheer and the boys will shout/The ladies they will all turn out/And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home."

Daryl, who has actually been smiling for most of the evening, looks over at her now and he is actually grinning – the sight making Beth laugh and she then laughs harder as Daryl suddenly swoops her up into his arms and carries her into their cabin.

…

The knock comes so suddenly and Beth wakes up with a fright. It's so late, the room is completely dark – not even the moon shining that night – and she lets out a gasp. Daryl is already up, grabbing his pants, tugging them on and then yanking on his boots.

"Daryl?" She asks, unsurely.

"Dixon!" She then hears someone shouting from outside, knocking again – this time, more like pounding on the door.

The voice is slurred and whoever it is, they're clearly drunk.

"Don't worry, darlin'," Daryl tells her and leans over, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Jus' Shane, drunk as a skunk. I'm gonna take him somewhere to sleep it off."

"I can make him some coffee…" she begins to offer and push the comforter from her body.

"Don't worry," he stops her. "Ain't no reason for you to not get any rest. 'sides, you ain't exactly dressed for company," he then reminds her and she blushes in the dark, pulling the comforter back over her nude body. He kisses her forehead again and then grabs a shirt. "I'll be back."

And her eyes are adjusted to the dark now and she watches as he goes to the door, unlocking it and stepping it outside, Shane exclaiming at his presence.

Beth lays back down and listens as their voices fade off until she can't hear them anymore and everything around her is quiet again. She rolls onto her side and her hand slides over the sheets, still warm from Daryl's body, and she shivers a little.

She hopes he knows that Shane can pass out in the hayloft and she hopes that Daryl gets back here soon. She's cold without him.

…

The next morning, she hears the rooster crowing and her eyes slowly flutter open. The birds are singing and the sun is pouring through the windows. Another beautiful summer day. She lays there for a moment but then her head whips to the side, looking to the space beside her. It's empty and when she reaches out to touch it, she feels the sheets are cold.

She frowns a little and sits up.

Did Daryl come back last night? But even as she asks herself that, she knows he didn't. She never heard or felt him come back and she slowly slips from the bed, bringing the comforter with her, wrapping it around her body. She looks around the cabin as if Daryl is there, just not in bed, even though it's a small cabin and where would he be? Not surprisingly, she doesn't see him and she goes to the front window, peering out.

Where is her husband and what happened to him last night?

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please review!**


	7. The Seed

**Thank you very much for your love and support of this story. I've introduced what will become the growing conflict in this story in this chapter.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Seven.**

"We should move out to California, man," Shane says, his words slurred as he stares up at the roof of the barn.

Daryl smirks, sitting beside him, looking out over the dark farm and the surrounding land through the wide hayloft doors. "What are we gonna do in California?" He asks.

"Orange groves, man," Shane said. "Fields and fields of orange groves and they need someone to pick all them oranges."

Daryl doesn't say anything. He just fishes a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket and pops one into his mouth.

"Maybe I'll even marry Betty Grable," Shane adds and Daryl snorts to himself, lighting it. Shane starts humming to himself then and Daryl smokes his cigarette. Somewhere, off in the distance, someone shoots off a firework in celebration. "You ever miss it, man?" Shane asks. "Not the gettin' shot at part or spendin' hours in a hole or bein' wet and hungry but, you ever just miss bein' over there, doin' somethin' and bein' a part of somethin'?"

Daryl is quiet, thinking it over for a second though he knows he doesn't have to. He exhales a long stream of smoke. "I can't go to California, Shane," he says quietly.

"That's right. You gotta stay here with your lil' wife instead and picks apples."

Daryl doesn't say anything to that and after a few seconds, he can hear Shane snoring.

…

He opens the door to the cabin slowly and quietly because even though the sun's above the eastern horizon and it's a couple of hours past dawn now, he doesn't know if she's awake.

She is. Beth is standing at the table, kneading dough into the flour dusted surface. She looks up, her eyes settling on him for a moment, before she lowers them again and keeps kneading.

"There's coffee on the stove," she says.

"Thanks," he steps in and closes the door behind him. He steps behind her to get a cup and pour himself some coffee from the pot setting on the burner.

"Shane alright?" She asks.

"Just celebratin' the end of the war with his best friend, Jameson." He comes around the table to stand on the other side of it so he's facing her. "Sorry 'bout last night. Took him up to the hayloft for him to pass out then I fell asleep myself."

"It's fine," she says and it's too quick, he notes, but she's not looking at him. "I woke up, worried, but something told me you were alright."

He's not too sure what to say so he doesn't say anything else. He watches her instead as she kneads and pounds and she has her hair pulled back into a braid but a strand has fallen loose and is hanging in her face. He reaches out to brush it aside for her but stops before he can.

"I better get goin'. Start with my work," he says and sets the cup down without taking a sip.

"Wait," she stops him.

He stands at the door and watches as she turns to the stove, bending down and pulling something from the oven. She comes to him then and hands him two biscuits.

"You missed breakfast and I was keeping them warm for you," she says. "You can't work on an empty stomach."

Daryl holds the biscuits in his hands and locks his eyes with hers. "Thanks."

She looks up at him with her big eyes and he searches his brain to say something else to her. He's not sure what it is but this morning feels a little awkward between them. Even their first morning together after getting married didn't feel like this. Even barely knowing one another and already seeing one another naked didn't feel like this. And Daryl doesn't know what has changed between them in just a few hours.

Beth is waiting for something but he has no idea what it is so instead, he leans down and kisses her chastely on her cheek.

"See 'ya at lunch," he says and she nods, taking a step back, still not saying anything, and there is a tightness in his chest that instantly eases when he's outside of the cabin again and he feels like he can breathe again.

…

He doesn't see her at lunch.

When he goes into the house's kitchen, his eyes instantly search for her but she's nowhere and Annette seems to read his mind. She gives him a smile as she serves him his serving of a cold meatloaf sandwich.

"She had to go to town. Jimmy's taken her," she tells him.

Daryl nods and doesn't say anything but inside, he's frowning. If she had to go to town, why didn't she come and get him instead to take her?

…

He's in the barn, fixing one of the horse's shoes when Beth suddenly appears, standing in the door of the stable where he's sitting on a stool. He instantly stops his work to look at her.

She gives him a small smile. Almost hesitant. And he's not sure what it is but seeing her smile like that at him, it makes him feel a little nervous all of a sudden. Even when they didn't even know one another – and he reminds himself that they still don't really know one another – her smile had always been a piece of sunshine she was giving just to him. She has never smiled at him like this before and he has no idea what this smile means.

"Hi," she says to him.

"Hey," he says in return as he stands up from the stool. "Everything a'right?" He then asks.

She nods and smiles a little easier. But then it slowly fades as she keeps looking at him. "I'm sorry," she then blurts out rather quickly.

"Why?" He asks and his brow furrows, trying to think of a reason she would be apologizing.

"This morning… I was acting strange. I just woke up and you weren't there and I… I didn't like it," she admits and her cheeks blush faintly as if she's embarrassed with admitting that.

"You don't gotta apologize, Beth." He shakes his head as he takes a step closer to her. "I'm the one that didn' come home last night." He pauses and swallows then because he feels a sudden dryness in his throat. "I ain't used to havin' someone, waitin' and worryin' 'bout me."

"Well… you do now," she tells him. "I know being married is going to take some getting used to." She is fidgeting with her fingers in front of her now as if nervous and Daryl reaches out, covering both of her hands with one of his, stopping her. She has such small hands compared to his. She takes her turn to swallow now. "I don't want to be an annoying wife."

He frowns. "You ain't bein' annoyin'."

"I just…" she swallows again and she still seems nervous but she keeps her eyes bravely locked with his. "I like you spending your nights next to me."

Daryl stares at her for a moment. He's never been the sort to talk a lot or give a quick reply but this time, he consciously takes his time and thinks of something to say to her; something that will get her to stop looking like she's even a little bit scared of him.

That doesn't settle right with him. He's seen that look before. His mom used to look at his old man like that all of the time. And he knows he hasn't given Beth any reason to be scared of him. He told her that he wants her to act like herself and the Beth Greene he's seen, watching all of these weeks since coming on this farm, this isn't a girl who cowers. He doesn't want her cowering now – especially around him.

He shuffles a step closer to her and his one hand still holds both of hers and his other lifts to her cheek, his thumb beneath her chin, tilting her head upwards, to keep their eye contact.

"I ain't lookin' to spend my nights with anyone else," he tells her in a quiet voice but a firm voice and he sees the instant that nervousness flees from her eyes.

She smiles faintly but it's lighter towards him now and he dips his head down and kisses her.

…

This time, when Beth has to go to town again, Daryl is the one to take her.

She wants to go to the library again and after that, she has to go to the grocery store. Butter is being sold in stores again after production having been stopped during the war and she's so excited to get one stick for her and another for her mama.

Daryl finds himself standing outside at the newsstand set up on the curb and he reaches for one of the Hollywood celebrity magazines he's never looked at a day in his life before. He flips through the pages now, seeing the pictures of Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart and Rita Hayworth but he isn't really looking at those pictures. He's looking at the others. The others of California and of Los Angeles.

And he's never imagined himself ever leaving Georgia but the apple season will be done in October and the citrus season is usually in the winter. If Shane's drunken talk is anything to be taken seriously, California will have a lot of work out there that needs to get done and what will he do with himself during the colder months on the farm if he stays in Georgia?

He puts the magazine back on the rack and buys himself a pack of cigarettes and a chocolate bar. Soldiers got plenty of chocolate bars shipped to them over there from back home while and Daryl supposes that he has gotten himself a bit of an addiction to them now.

Beth comes out of the store, beaming at him, and he smiles a little, instantly taking the bag from her hand and hands her the chocolate bar, which she smiles even wider immediately upon receiving. She pushes herself up on her toes and kisses his cheek and the tips of his ears turn red a little as they start walking back to the truck.

He listens to everything she's saying – all of the foods she wants to make now that she has actual butter to use, just as the recipes call for – but in the back of his head, he's wondering what Beth would think of moving out to California.

…

She's not wincing anymore but he still moves slowly just in case any movement of his causes her pain. She's panting heavily and her fingers are digging into his skin, trying to hold onto him as he pumps between her thighs, his face buried in the side of her neck.

She feels so good. Best thing in this shitty world he's ever felt and he wonders if he'll ever get enough of her. He doubts it. Just a few times in, and he's already fully addicted to her and he can't see himself ever getting his fill of her; of sugar and sunshine and even her sweat tastes sweet. She moans now as he licks a drop of it off of her throat. And he wants to do everything he can to make her feel as good as she makes him feel.

Beth's his wife – not just some pump station where he can empty himself inside of each night before going to sleep. He wants her to love being with him just as she whispers in his ear that she loves him. He's never had anyone love him before except maybe, Merle, but this love is obviously completely different and he wonders if he'll love Beth someday. He knows he wants to love her. He just has no idea how to love anything so in the meantime, he'll do this. He'll make her feel good and give her as much pleasure as she can stand.

And when Beth suddenly tenses and cries out his name, Daryl knows he's succeeded.

…

He's married a woman who comes from a religious family and who is religious herself so every Sunday morning, he finds himself sitting in a pew in the too-hot church beside her, not really listening to what the preacher man is saying behind his podium up on the altar. Instead, Daryl finds himself distracted because Beth's dress has ridden up just the slightest bit and he can see a pale sliver of her knee and he stares at that bit of skin until Beth nudges him gently in the arm and he realizes the service is over, people all around them standing up to leave.

She smiles at him as if she knows exactly what he had been doing and he just smirks and shrugs because there's no reason to deny it if she's figured it out.

They drive back home with Annette and Hershel and once there, Annette and Beth go into the kitchen to start making them their weekly big Sunday lunch. Hershel eases himself down into his chair, turning on the radio, and Daryl sits in the chair across from him. There's a copy of Time Life Magazine on the table and Daryl finds himself picking it up and flipping through the pages. He stops on an ad somewhere near the middle of the magazine.

 _Come to Los Angeles! Where Dreams Come True!_

Daryl stares at the full page black and white photograph; of palm trees and beaches and bright sunshine and rows and rows of neat little houses that are being built. And orange groves as far as the eye can see. Even just looking at the picture, he knows he's never seen anything like it.

"Do you mind if I take this, Hershel?" Daryl asks, holding up the magazine.

"Help yourself," Hershel gives him a smile before turning his attention back to the radio.

Daryl stands up to go put the magazine down in the cabin and passing through the kitchen, he stops himself and gives Beth a kiss on the side of her head; a kiss which makes her tilt her head up to him and smile brightly.

In the cabin, he folds the magazine open to the Los Angeles ad and stares at it for another moment before slipping it underneath the mattress.

He doesn't know what it is because Shane had been drunk off his ass when he mentioned California but Shane has seemed to plant some sort of seed in his head and Daryl can't stop thinking about it now.

…

The tractor has broken down and Daryl spends most of his day trying to fix it. He's always been good with machines and the oil and grease on his hands is almost comforting to him.

He hears a thump on the wooden floor behind him but he doesn't lift his head or stop his work to know that it's Hershel coming on his crutches.

"Any luck?" His father-in-law asks.

"Not yet," Daryl shakes his head. "But I'll get it."

"Of that, I have no doubt," Hershel replies and Daryl doesn't look but can hear him smiling. "I have no idea what me or this farm would do without you, Daryl," the old man then says.

Daryl still won't lift his head but he stops his wrench in mid-turn at the words and then he feels a tightness in his stomach. How can he think of going out to California and leaving Hershel to man this whole farm by himself with just one leg and Otis to help him?

But… Hershel had promised him when he first got here. Just until the end of the apple harvest. Just until the end of October. And once October nears the end, Daryl will have to go and find some more work. He has a wife to support now and he's not looking for his in-laws to take care of them.

He's a Dixon and Dixons take care of their own.

…

They're trying something new tonight and Beth seems to be enjoying it even if she had started out hesitantly, having no idea what to do. But now, she's moving her hips as if she's done this a thousand times before. They both sit up in the middle of their bed, Beth sitting on top of him, her knees bent and helping her rock herself against him as his hands move up and down her hips, occasionally squeezing her hips or even the cheeks of her ass.

"A damn natural," he grunts to her and she's blushing through her flushed skin and sweat and he leans in, taking a nipple between his lips and listening to her soft cry as he sucks on it.

Her fingers are tight in his hair, holding on as if she's riding a horse and these are the reigns, and she starts to bounce a little harder. There's something so damn sexy about having his wife bounce in his lap and Daryl grips his fingers on her thighs, holding onto her, feeling his body breaking out into a sweat.

"Daryl," she whimpers his name and he lifts his head, looking into her face, locking his eyes with her, giving her the silent command to keep her eyes open and on him. "Daryl!" She then cries out his name, much louder and sharper, when his hand slips between where their bodies meet and he touches that small bud of hers, Beth throwing her head back in response and he clenches his teeth and she squeezes herself around him.

…

They lie in bed, on their sides so they're facing one another, and Daryl can't help but lightly run his fingers up and down the side of her body, tracing the dip of her hip and the faint outline of her ribs, and Beth's eyes are settled on his face, her own hand tracing faint scars on his chest. Some from his old man. Some from the war. Her fingers trace the words stamped into the dog tags hanging around his neck and she leans in then and places a kiss on his chest, right over his heart.

"I wish you could live inside of me," Beth then says softly.

"Might make workin' a bit uncomfortable," he smirks a little and she laughs softly and it's pleasant; like a light tinkling of a bell.

"You know what I mean," she says and tilts her head up towards him.

He nods once because he knows exactly what she means and he lifts his hand from her hip to curve around the back of her neck before pulling her in for another kiss.

"Daryl," she hums his name. "Be inside of me," she whispers to him then and he swears he feels some sort of tingling racing down his spine.

But he doesn't hesitate in pushing her gently onto her back and covering her body with his. And for the rest of the night, he doesn't think about staying in Georgia or moving out to California. Right now, the only place he wants to live is right here, between Beth's thighs.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	8. Life to Live

**I love this story because it is obviously something I have never written before and yet at the same time, writing this story absolutely terrifies me.**

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…

 **Chapter Eight.**

There is a soft rain falling that evening – tapping methodically against the roof above their heads, a Vera Lynn song is playing on their record player – "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square", one of her favorites – and Beth is laughing lightly.

"Sorry," Daryl mumbles when he steps on her foot for the countless time.

"Don't be. It's why neither of us are wearing shoes." She smiles as she brings his hands back to her body, one on her waist and the other held in hers. "Now, pick a spot in here," she instructs and looks into his face, seeing him never taking his eyes from her as he listens to every word she says. She keeps her smile soft. "And lead me there. You lead and I follow."

Daryl visibly swallows and her hand on his shoulder gives it a slight squeeze.

"You've been in war, Daryl," she says softly, teasing in her tone. "Surely, you're not afraid of leading me."

"Don't know how," he shrugs as if it isn't obvious and then exhales a deep breath of frustration.

"That's why we're doing this," Beth tells him. "You've married a girl who loves to dance and I need to teach you how to dance with me."

Daryl stares at her as she takes a step closer to him, her chest nearly pressed to his.

"Lead me, Daryl. You can do this," she says to him in a soft voice and he exhales another breath. His hand tightens around hers and he doesn't move and she tries to think of another approach to take. "Remember at the carnival? The way we just swayed?" She asks and he nods. "Let's just sway right now."

He nods again and finally, his body begins to move ever so slightly, and she smiles, happily moving her body along with his.

…

Every Wednesday, she washes the bedding and it's not her favorite chore. Her daddy had promised her mama a washing machine now that the war is done and companies are going to be making things again other than bullets and guns and Beth can't wait to have an actual washing machine rather than a washboard that makes her knuckles raw.

Daryl has eaten breakfast and has left to begin work for the day and Beth hums to herself as she begins stripping back the sheets of the bed. She hears a slight scraping sound beneath their mattress and frowning to herself, wondering what it is, she lifts up the mattress as much as she can and sees a magazine being stuffed there.

She doesn't question it for a moment, already aware that it obviously belongs to Daryl, and though she tries to tell herself that it isn't any of her business, her curiosity wins out in the end and she pulls it out to see what it is. For a split second, she's worried that it's one of those magazines intended for men, the pages filled of pages of pinup girls. Shawn used to have several issues of magazines like that hidden in his room – though she and Maggie acted as if they didn't know, and maybe their mama had, too – but Daryl really doesn't seem to be the sort to have a magazine like that hidden beneath their mattress.

Her brow only furrows a bit more when she sees what it is. It's one of those Hollywood magazines but instead of the page folded open to one of the many beautiful actresses, he, instead, has it open to an ad for Los Angeles.

 _Come to Los Angeles! Where Dreams Come True!_

Beth sits down on the edge of their bed, reading the ad and looking at the pictures and she wonders why Daryl has this. California. She's never thought about it before. She loves going to the movies at least once a month and loves watching the reels of what seems to be quite a glamorous life out there but she has never imagined going out there herself. Why would she imagine it? She loves being on the farm here in Georgia. It's not an easy life, she knows, but she and her family have a good enough life here and they're happy and what more do they need than that?

But is Daryl happy? She frowns a little to herself.

Beth realizes that she actually doesn't know the answer to that.

…

That evening for dinner, she makes a hamburger casserole with fresh corn from the field and fresh tomatoes from the garden and she watches as Daryl eats a plate heaping with a serving enough to feed three of hers.

"Daryl," she says his name but she actually has no idea what to say past that.

She's been thinking about it all day as she washed and hung the bed linens on the lines and then took them all down again, dressing the beds again.

Daryl lifts his eyes to hers, taking a moment to finish chewing. "'s good," he says, thinking that that's what she wants to know and she allows herself to smile faintly for a moment.

"Thank you," she says and then clears her throat. "But, something else has been on my mind."

Daryl's brow furrows as he looks at her. "Everythin' a'right?" He asks.

"Yes," she nods then even though she realizes that she's not entirely sure whether that's true or not. She likes to think that everything is alright and there is a perfectly good explanation. She exhales a soft breath and he's still staring at her. "This morning, I found a magazine…" she trails off then and she looks at Daryl and knows she doesn't need to continue.

He knows exactly what she's talking about because even though his face remains rather blank, his eyes show some sort of spark that lasts for no longer than a second. Nonetheless, she sees it and sits there, waiting for him to explain it to her.

She knows how things are. She is his wife and she doesn't necessarily have the right to an explanation. He's a man and what he does is mostly only his business. He doesn't have to share anything with her if he chooses not to.

So, Beth sits there and finds herself holding her breath because he's not sure what he will do.

Maybe one day, they'll reach a point with one another where she will learn his expressions and how to guess all of the words he _doesn't_ say but they're not there yet and she doesn't expect them to be there for many more years. Right now, there's so much more about him that she doesn't know rather than what she does.

Daryl looks at her and she's rather surprised that he's keeping eye contact with her.

"Was somethin' that Shane mentioned. California has a lot of work right now. Plenty of oranges in the groves that need pickin'," he explains and she sits there quietly.

Oddly enough, the first thought she has is that she doesn't think she's heard him say so many words at once. But then, what he has said, settles over her mind and she has a thousand other questions as a follow-up.

"What about the farm and orchard here?" She manages to at least voice one question.

Daryl shrugs his shoulders and she watches as his eyes fall away from hers then. "When your pops hired me, he said I only had to stay 'til the end of October and apple pickin' season. Not that much work to do 'round here in the colder months." He looks at her again and his eyes don't waver from hers. "And I ain't lookin' to have your parents take care of us."

Beth feels a rushing in her ears and her head begins to descend into slight spins.

California? He's talking about moving to California? To leave Georgia for across the country? What about the farm and her parents and… her _life_ is here. Not in California.

Her lips part as if she is prepared to tell him all of this but all of the words clump in her throat and she's not able to say anything at all. He goes back to eating his dinner, his eyes falling down onto the plate, and he doesn't say another word.

Beth wants to demand he talk more because what he has just said, she needs more of an explanation. Moving to California? For how long? Just for the citrus season and then they would move back here in the spring when animals are being born and crops are needed to be planted. Are if they move to California, are they going to stay out there forever? What about her daddy and this farm? Daryl has a responsibility here.

…doesn't he?

He married her. Not the farm or her daddy. She knew of what Hershel had said when Daryl had first come to the farm. Hershel had told all of them when he explained that Daryl would be working there for the next few months. He had said just until the end of apple season.

Beth had just thought that after they got married, he would stay.

"You don't gotta frown," Daryl breaks through her thoughts. "Mind hasn't been made up yet. Not like we're movin' tomorrow."

Beth nods but can't look at him. She looks, instead, at the casserole dish on the table between them and her stomach gives a roll. It doesn't surprise her that she's not hungry in the least.

…

She is his wife. Daryl is her husband. And if her husband decides to move them to California, she can't refuse. She knows that – no matter how much she might want to. He has said that he doesn't want her to be anything except herself and she loves him a little bit more just for that so she knows she can yell and scream and stamp her foot down about this.

But in the end, he's her husband and if he feels moving them to California is the thing to do, Beth has to accept it and go with him. She knows how hard of a worker Daryl is and it doesn't surprise her that he wants to go where he knows that there is work but that doesn't mean she has to like the idea of moving so far away from her home.

She doesn't know anything about California except that people right now are flooding out there for the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, hoping to work in Hollywood. There are jobs a plenty out there. Actually, now that the war is done, there are a ton of jobs everywhere. And she's glad that she has married a man who wants to get one of those jobs and earn himself some money so he can take care of her.

She just doesn't see why they have to move all of the way out to California for those jobs.

…

"Beth!" Annette exclaims her name quickly and Beth jumps with fright and surprise. "Beth," Annette then says again, calmer and a bit more concerned. "That's salt."

Beth looks to the jar on the counter she had almost reached for to dump into the bowl of cookie dough and she exhales a heavy sigh. "Thank you," she said, giving her mother a small smile before reaching for the smaller jar of sugar.

"Is everything alright?" Annette asks, her concern growing.

Beth nods her head automatically because she's not sure she wants to talk to her mother just yet about this. She doesn't know if there's anything to talk with her about. As Daryl said, his mind hasn't been made up yet and there's no reason for Beth to mention it to Annette if it winds up to be nothing. No point in having Annette worry.

"Beth," Annette reaches a hand out and brushes some of her blonde hair back from her face. Beth looks at her and she almost wants to start crying because if she and Daryl do move to California, what is she going to do without her mother?

Stop it, Beth, she scolds herself silently. She's eighteen-years-old. She's a young woman and a married woman. She shouldn't need her mother anymore. It's time to cut the apron strings.

Beth exhales a soft breath. "I'm alright," she says and it's not the truth but she doesn't want it to be a lie either. She wants to be alright.

"Don't worry, honey." Annette kisses her temple. "Every married couple has disagreements."

And Annette is just assuming, Beth knows. She's just assuming there was an argument of sorts between her and Daryl to explain away Beth's quietness and Beth does her best to give her mother a small smile. Annette gives her head another kiss.

"It will all be alright in the end," Annette says.

Beth finds herself repeating the words to herself and wanting, more than anything, to believe the seemingly simple words.

It will all be alright in the end.

…

She sits on the edge of the bathtub in the bathroom, a vanity mirror balanced on the closed toilet lid, and she is taking locks of her hair, twisting them up and pinning them with bobby pins so her hair will be waved in the morning.

She hears the cabin door open and then moments later, Daryl is standing in the doorway, looking at her. She doesn't say anything due to the bobby pins she is holding between her teeth, but she looks at him, waiting for him to be the one to speak.

And he does.

"I need to know that you ain't gonna hate me," he says.

Beth finishes twisting the last locks of hair and when her mouth is free again, she shakes her head. "I don't think I could ever hate you, Daryl," she tells him.

"I know this kind of came out nowhere for you but I…" he pauses and takes a moment to seem and collect his thoughts. "I'm doin' this for both of us. There's a lot of money out there and I wanna be able to get some of that for us. For you."

Beth nods because she understands all of that. She just still doesn't necessarily like it. She exhales a soft sigh and looks down to her hands. She's wearing her silk slip and she fiddles with the hemline. Daryl steps into the bathroom and moving the mirror down to the floor, he sits down on the closed toilet lid and one of his hands slides over her thigh. She lifts her head and falls right into his eyes.

"I've never been away from home before," she admits. "I didn't think I would ever leave." She covers his hand with one of hers and exhales again. "But if you think this is the right thing for us to do… alright," she says the last word in a whisper but she's staring right into his eyes and he hears her.

Daryl leans into her then and with a hand on her cheek, he kisses her.

…

"How can you sleep like that?" He asks as they're both in bed. "Don't they stab your head?"

Beth smiles a little and her fingers touch a few of the pins. "Horribly. And I'll be tired tomorrow but I'll have beautiful hair."

"You already got that," he says and she smiles at him. "Reminds me of some of these wheat fields I saw over in France," he then confides in her and she feels her heart give a flip.

"Really?"

"Pretty and gold," he nods and his eyes dip away from hers as if embarrassed.

Beth moves in closer to him and she brushes her lips across his. "I love you," she whispers.

And she does. She really does. And she knows she'll love him in Georgia or California.

California. It seems so far away; almost as if it's part of another country. There are thousands of miles right now between them and California and Beth can't even imagine what it will be like. She can't even predict what to expect.

Her days here in Georgia are all she's ever known and when she thinks of her and Daryl, she can see nothing but a blank grayness, ready to be filled in.

…

Beth tells her parents after church on Sunday, over the big lunch they have every week, and understandably, Annette and Hershel sit there, a little stunned and silent. Beth looks to Daryl for his aid in talking with them about this.

He shifts in his chair a little. "It won't be forever," he says and Beth is relieved as soon as he's said that because she hadn't actually known if it would be or not.

"We're gonna go out there for the orange harvest season and then come back here again in the spring. There's a lot that's got to be done out there and the money's good," Daryl tells them and again, he's speaking so much at one time about this, it makes Beth think that he wants to do this more than anything.

Beth takes over as if she and Daryl have talked about all of this already.

"We'll be back in time to help you with planting, daddy," she promises.

Hershel looks at her for a moment and then to Daryl, taking his time in studying both of them. He looks back to Beth again.

"I only promised until October to Daryl," Hershel says. "You're both young and newlyweds and the world is such a better place now. You two have to live your life for both of you. Bethy, your mother and I gave you life so you could live it."

Beth feels a tightening in her throat and she nods her head rapidly.

She's so terrified of leaving the farm but she hears her daddy's words and knows he's right. She's eighteen and she's someone's wife now. It's time to leave home.

She turns her head to look at Daryl to find that he's already looking at her and she does her best to give him a smile. And after a moment, she's actually able to – small and faint but a true smile nonetheless and it takes Daryl a moment but then he gives a small smile back to her.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please review!**


	9. North Star

**I was honestly thinking of not continuing this story. Many didn't like them getting married so quickly and many didn't like the idea of them leaving Georgia and I was just beginning to doubt myself about the whole thing. But I still have my ideas and I've been thinking about this plot more and more and I'm not able to just up and quit this one. To those reading and enjoying this story, thank you so, so much for your continued support and encouragement.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Nine.**

Beth's quiet. Quiet in a way that he's not used to from her. And it's not as if she's ignoring him. She still talks with him and sings her songs but she does it so much more quietly nowadays and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why. Beth has agreed to come to California with him because they're married and she's his wife and it's not like she could have refused but Daryl watches her and thinks that maybe she could have. He'll be in California for a few months but he said he would come back here to Georgia and maybe Beth could stay here for the months he was gone.

It isn't ideal. There's nothing about the idea that he likes. In just a short amount of time, he has gotten so attached to Beth and he can't imagine going months without seeing her.

But he looks at her and listens to how quiet she is and if staying here in Georgia will make her happy then maybe he should make the suggestion he go to California by himself.

…

She's singing Judy Garland – that trolley song again, definitely one of her favorites – as she's at the stove, stirring a pot of oatmeal. Daryl isn't one to linger in bed, getting up with the sun, but this morning, he can't seem to pull himself from the mattress.

It's hot and sticky in the room that morning and even with the windows open, the breeze blowing is hot and humid and offers them no reprieve from the relentless summer heat. They have a couple of fans – one directed towards the bed and the other in the kitchen – but even as he feels it blow onto his skin, Daryl still feels sweaty and uncomfortable and he can't help but wonder if it gets hot like this out in California.

He turns his head on the pillow and looks at Beth's backside. She's taken to wearing his white undershirts to bed and it's definitely not something he finds any problem with because it's big on her and the collar slips past one of her shoulders and it grazes her thighs and he rolls onto his side, his eyes never leaving the sight of her bare legs.

And then, as if she can sense him awake and looking at her, Beth turns then and her eyes fall into his. Her cheeks blush a faint pink and she gives him a small smile – almost shy though it's definitely not the first time he's been caught staring at her. His own lips twitch in response but it fades the longer he looks at her.

Can he really go to California without her?

Now that he has her – now that he finally has something so good in his life – it's made him a selfish man and now, he can't imagine being without her.

…

He's running a little late that morning and his first stop is to the barn to milk the couple of cows. He's sitting on the stool, squeezing the udders gently, slowly filling the buckets with milk when he hears the familiar _thump_ on the barn floor.

A moment later, Hershel appears in the stall and gives Daryl a smile. "Morning," he greets.

"Mornin'," Daryl greets back and he's not sure why but he suddenly feels nervous because not only is this man his employer but he's his father-in-law and this man holds a lot of power right now over Daryl.

"Been wanting to talk with you," Hershel says, adjusting his crutches as he lowers himself onto a nearby hay bale. Daryl gives a single head nod and continues to squeeze the udders, very aware of Hershel watching him. "I heard Beth talking with Annette in the kitchen earlier," he began and despite the heat in the barn, Daryl suddenly feels himself go cold and his hands falter a little in their work. "Annette and I have some money in the bank that we had put there for each of our children. I'm going to go to town and withdraw Beth's share."

Daryl isn't sure what to say to that but he stops milking and lifts his eyes to Hershel.

"You don't gotta do that," Daryl says.

"It's her money and with you two leaving, she needs to take that with her," Hershel says and he is about to continue but Daryl shakes his head, cutting him off.

"I ain't talked with her 'bout it yet but… I'm thinkin' that Beth can stay here and I can go out to California without her," he says and it's the first time he's said that thought out loud and when he does, he can feel bile rising in the back of his throat along with it.

Hershel just blinks at him and it looks as if the man is speechless. Daryl slowly begins squeezing his fingers again, getting back to work. He had expected Hershel to say something to that but he doesn't and Daryl sits there, thinking that maybe Hershel likes the idea too much to argue with him about it.

…

"Look," Beth says and Daryl stops walking to look at what she's pointing to. "We're going to have a lot of apples to pick this year," she smiles faintly as her fingers graze the small apple, hanging and forming on one of the branches as they take a walk through the orchard. "We pick as many as we can to sell and then, other people from around come to pick their own and pay by the pound. It's a lot of fun. We usually get a band out here to play at night and have a little party of sorts to celebrate the harvest."

Daryl watches her as she begins walking again and he falls into step beside her.

"You're quiet," she notes after a passing minute.

"I ain't the only one," he replies before he can stop himself and Beth doesn't protest exhales a deep breath. "I know you ain't happy, Beth."

Beth stops walking so suddenly as if she has just walked into an invisible wall and she turns to look at him, her mouth hanging open as if she wants to say something but no idea what. Daryl stops and turns towards her so they're facing one another and he shoves his hands in the front pockets of his pants.

He shrugs weakly. "I know when you said you'd marry me, you just assumed we'd be married _here_ and the idea of California came to me after we had already been married so 's my fault. I know that. You never asked for this or want this. 's why I'm thinkin' that when I go to California, I go without you."

Beth is still silent and he looks at her and his words have seemed to make her completely still. She doesn't make a sound and Daryl doesn't make a sound to say anything else.

Finally, he sees her swallow and her lips part. "I know we got married too quickly," she begins and her first words make his stomach fall. Somehow, even though he had been the one to make the suggestion, he had hoped that Beth would refused to agree to it. It looks like she's going to agree to stay though and he'll head west and he'll see her in the spring. "But what I said to you on our wedding night, I meant it Daryl," Beth continues. "I love you. I fell in love with you the second I saw you and I've already told you. You lead and I'll follow." He can see tears glassing in her eyes now as she keeps those big blue eyes of hers settled on his. "So, if you don't want me coming to California with you, Daryl, you own that like a man and don't try to push it on me. If you don't want me coming, you tell me it's what _you_ want and don't assume you know it's what I want when it's not. At all."

She turns without another word and begins to walk down the row, leaving him behind.

And he stands there, watching her walk away from him and he tries to think of the last time he has seen something as terrible as that.

…

She doesn't say a word over dinner. She has roasted one of the rabbits he has hunted along with carrots and potatoes and it's heavy for the heat but he doesn't say anything because it's damn good and in his whole life, he's never eaten as well as he has until coming to the farm.

"Beth, 'm sorry," he said once they're done eating and she's clearing away the dishes from the table and carrying them to sink.

"For what, Daryl?" She asks, turning on him instantly. "If you don't want a wife then you shouldn't have asked me to marry you."

"'s not like I know how to have a wife," he can't help but frown as he stands up from his chair, crossing his arms defensively over his chest.

"And I know how to have a husband?" She snaps back at him. "I do know one thing though that you obviously don't. I'm not just your wife. I'm your partner. And where you go, I go. You can't just leave me behind because you don't feel like dealing with me anymore."

He stares at her for a beat. "'s that what you think?"

Beth just stares at him in return.

"Ever since I mentioned movin' to California, you've been quiet. Don't say you haven't 'cause I know you have been. I know you don't wanna move to California so I was thinkin' you can stay here, where you're _happy_ ," he does his best to explain to her but he still doesn't know if it makes any sense. It makes perfect sense to him but he's never been the best with words and talking and saying exactly what he means.

"I wasn't going to disagree. I _have_ been quiet," Beth says. "But Daryl, I'm eighteen years old. In eighteen years, I've never been away from this farm. This is my home. And now, in just a few short months, I'm going to be moving across the country. I'm absolutely terrified. I know absolutely nothing about California or how it will be out there for us but I'm going because it's what you want to do and I trust you completely."

Daryl stands there, looking at her, listening to every single word she says.

"And you can't honestly think I would be happy here without you when there's an entire country between us," she adds in a softer voice.

He can't look away from her and he thinks how maybe, right in that moment, he loves her. He's never been in love before; never really loved another person in this world before except for maybe Merle but this with Beth is obviously so completely different and he can't be sure whether that is what the tightening in his stomach and the thumping of his heart is.

He just knows, looking at her in this moment, that he can't imagine being anywhere without her and he wonders how he got through these thirty-four years without her.

"When we get out there, I promise I'll do anythin' I can to make you happy," he says in a low voice and he thinks he didn't say it loud enough but Beth smiles at him then – a small, faint yet happy smile – and he knows she heard him perfectly.

He rounds the table, finally feeling brave enough to, and she is still smiling when his hands slowly lift to her cheeks, fingers sliding back into her hair and he kisses her.

…

He wakes up to find himself in bed alone. The cabin is still dark – so dark to let him know that it's the middle of the night – and he looks at the empty spot beside him, his hand touching it as if he doesn't fully understand why it's empty.

He frowns, sitting up. Where the hell is Beth? The bathroom is empty and dark and the door stands up so clearly, she's not in there. She's nowhere in the small cabin that he can see once his eyes adjust.

He pulls himself from the bed, finding his boxers on the floor and tugging them on. He looks towards the front door and sees that it's open a crack. Frowning heavier now – more confused than anything – he opens the door and steps outside. The air out here is actually cooler than it is in the cabin and he stands there for a moment, listening to the absolute silence of the night. Even the crickets and the frogs are silent.

"What are you doin'?" He asks when he sees Beth and his sudden appearance and voice startle her. She whips her head around to look at him and gives him a small smile.

She is wearing his tee-shirt again and – he hopes underwear underneath – and she's sitting in the grass, her legs stretched out before her. "I was so hot, I couldn't sleep. And so I came out here to look at the stars."

He comes and sits down next to her as if this is all normal. He lays down on his back and folds his hands behind his head. "Gonna get eaten alive by mosquitos," he tells her. "Can't really blame 'em either. Sweetest tastin' thing out here."

She smiles at that and slowly, she lays down next to him in the grass. "I haven't felt any," she comments quietly. "You were sound asleep when I slipped out. What woke you?"

He shrugs, not really knowing how to answer that even if he does know the answer. He can't sleep without her. In just a short amount of time, he's gotten so used to having her there next to him. He can't even really remember what it was like sleeping before her. In the short weeks they had been married, Beth has nearly wiped out his entire life before her.

He doesn't tell her that though. He has no idea how to tell her something like that.

"See that?" She asks as she points towards the sky and he follows her finger. "The north star. No matter where you are, if you find that star, you can follow it and it will take you home."

Daryl looks at it for a moment. "What if you're already home?" He asks. He already knows all about the star but he likes to hear her voice.

"Then you look at it and know that you'll never be lost."

He turns his head and looks at her then. "Guess you're my north star then."

He has no idea where that came from. He's never said anything like that to another person before. But he looks at Beth and she's not just anyone in his life. She's his wife and he wonders if he'll reach a point where he doesn't have to remind himself of that all of the time.

She doesn't say anything and he wonders if he has just, somehow, said the completely wrong thing but then Beth bursts into the brightest smile that he has seen from her in days and without saying anything, she practically launches herself at him, rolling to him, her hands finding his cheeks, and her lips pressing hard against his.

Daryl's arms instantly wind around her and he holds her pressed to him, his lips eagerly meeting each and every one of her kisses, not even thinking about or worrying about someone looking and seeing them kissing in the grass.

He doesn't know how California will be for them. Has no clue. But in the back of his mind, he seems to know – with complete certainty – that as long as he's got Beth with him, maybe California will be the answer to a question he doesn't even know to ask yet.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please review!**


	10. Weak or Stupid

**As always, your response to this story just keeps blowing me away. Thank you so, so much for all of your kind words and reviews. I have decided to focus on this story for the time being. It got away from me for a while and I don't want that to happen again. I want to concentrate on only one story at a time for the time being.**

 **The next chapter will jump ahead to apple harvest time.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Ten.**

It's only September and they aren't leaving until the first week of November but Beth begins to pack up some things. She starts in her bedroom in the farmhouse. Otis had gotten one of the trunks down from the attic and Beth begins going through the things that she has had for most of her life. Books and a few stuffed animals and photographs and a small jewelry box on her dresser though she hasn't worn any of that jewelry in months.

She isn't sure what to take. She doesn't know what she will need in California or what she'll miss if she doesn't have it with her because living in the cabin with Daryl is different. If she needs something from her room, she can just walk up the hill and get it. Once she and Daryl move to California though, she will have to have everything she needs already with her.

She knows what Daryl has said to her daddy but there is a part of her that doesn't really believe it. It's not that she thinks Daryl is a liar. Not at all. She wouldn't have fallen in love with and married a man who lies. But Beth just seems to know that once they leave for California, they won't be coming back to Georgia.

…

She knows he loves her hair and she knows that he loves it when she wears it down. The few times she has worn it up since their wedding, he always stares at it for a moment as if he's never seen anything like it before.

He kisses her every morning after breakfast, after he pulls on and ties his boots, and before he leaves the cabin to begin his long day of work. He goes to her and she smiles up at him and his lips always turn upwards in that little way of his. His hand goes to the back of her head and she's learned that he loves slipping his fingers through her hair. He kisses her and she hasn't figured it out yet how he can kiss her so soft but hungry at the same time. All she does know is when her husband kisses her, she feels it everywhere. In her chest and stomach and the tips of her fingers and toes, in her knees and in every single nerve her body housed.

Most mornings, when he kisses her, it is able to stay nothing more than a firm peck and it is able to hold her over until the evening when they are reunited in their home again.

But other mornings, he kisses her and her fingers curl into his shirt and she doesn't want him to walk out the door. Instead, she hears herself whimper softly and all she wants to do is have him take her back to bed. She, sometimes, will drop her hands and push the edge of his tee-shirt up just so she can feel the skin of his hips and she feels him smirk against her lips.

Those are the days that when he comes home working all day and comes back to the cabin, she is in the kitchen, fixing dinner, but she races to him and she doesn't even let him go to the bathroom to clean up first before she's kissing him and pulling him towards the bed.

"You've made me addicted to this," she pants against his lips.

"There are worse things to be addicted to," he murmurs against hers as his hands slide up her thighs and she knows he's tired and sweaty but he never tells her they can't do this.

It seems he's just as addicted as she is.

…

They go to town one night to see _Meet Me in St. Louis_ even though Beth has already seen it three times and Daryl isn't a large lover of musicals.

He buys them popcorn and a bottle of Coke and they sit in the back row where Beth hums along to every song on the screen and she can feel Daryl looking at her occasionally, a small smile twitching at his lips. Somewhere, near the end of the picture, his hand slowly moves towards hers and his knuckles brush along hers, his fingers lightly – almost hesitantly – sliding along hers. She turns her head and smiles faintly at him and he smiles, too, and he stops acting as if he has no right to hold her hand; as if he's a man taking her out on their first date and not already married.

Daryl takes hold of her hand and Beth intertwines their fingers together, shifting in her seat closer to him.

And after the lights come up and they leave the theater and step into the warm night, Daryl doesn't let go of her hand. He holds it tightly and Beth can't stop smiling.

"I wonder how it will be seeing a movie in California," she says suddenly.

Daryl looks to her. "Think it'll be different?" He asks.

"I don't know," she smiles and shrugs. "Maybe, maybe not. But we're moving to where the movies are actually made. Maybe the air will feel different or something," she laughs then and Daryl's lips twitch a little.

"Think you'll be a movie star out there?" He asks.

"Me?" She laughs again.

"Why not?" He gives a shrug. "Prettiest girl I've ever seen."

Beth feels her cheeks warm as if he's never given her a compliment before. "Being pretty and having talent are two different things."

He looks at her as they stop beside the truck and he pulls open the passenger door for her but Beth doesn't get into the truck and she stands there, looking at the way Daryl is frowning at her. Her smile fades a little.

"What?" She wonders.

"Got more talent in your pinkie finger than every other girl out there," he tells her in his low voice and she looks at him because there hasn't even been a second that she pictured herself going out to California and trying to become famous.

All when she thinks about when she thinks about California is going out there and starting a life with her husband. Nothing matters more to her than that – her and Daryl making a life they share together. He's going to pick oranges and she's going to make their home and they're going to be together and that's all she needs.

"You know you could be the next Judy Garland if that's what you wan'," Daryl tells her.

Her blush returns and she smiles as she shakes her head slightly. "I just want to be Beth Dixon. That's all I want."

He actually smiles at that. "You're the best thing to ever happen to the Dixon name."

She laughs at that and her chest feels light and she leans into him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, feeling his hands slide over her hips.

"Just wait until we have children," she smiles, teasing though deep down, she knows she's not joking at all, and Daryl must know that and she feels his entire body instantly tense.

…

His eyes are closed but Beth knows he's not asleep.

She lays on her side as he lays on his back and the fan blows on them but it does little to break through the heavy heat hanging in the air that night. She doesn't know how long she's been watching him but she can't help herself and she slowly reaches a hand out, fingertips lightly touching the dog tags resting on his chest.

He finally opens his eyes and looks at her but doesn't say anything.

She speaks quietly. "Do you want to have a baby?" She asks him.

"Not right this second," he responds honestly and she really does love that she married such an honest man but she's still getting used to just how blunt it is.

"But someday?" She asks, almost hesitantly, and she wonders why this topic hasn't been breached before. She's always wanted to be a mother and she guesses she just assumed that Daryl wouldn't mind being a father.

Daryl's quiet – _too_ quiet for too long – and she stares at him with a lump in her throat.

"Someday," he then grunts.

She feels like she can breathe again.

"I'll make a shit dad," he then adds, his eyes closing again.

Beth looks at him for another moment and then, even though it's too hot, she moves in close to him, and closing her eyes, she rests her forehead against his temple. Her arm slides over his stomach and she hugs him.

"You're nothing like your dad, Daryl," she whispers to him.

And his eyes are closed but his hand finds her arm over his middle and he gives it a squeeze. Beth smiles faintly and settles her head on his shoulder and within minutes, this time, they both fall asleep.

…

After church service on Sunday, they return home and go into the farmhouse to have lunch with her parents. Nothing fancy this week. Just ham sandwiches, potato salad and fresh iced tea. They eat in the kitchen and during the meal, Annette leaves for a moment and returns with a box wrapped in brown paper.

"This is a late wedding present from your father and I," Annette smiles as she holds it out for Beth to take.

"Mom…" Beth hesitates for a moment before taking it and looking at Daryl. He sits beside her, sipping his iced tea, watching her as she slowly begins to pull at the paper.

Inside, is a box and she lifts the lid, her lips parting when she sees what it is. She lifts her eyes and looks at her mom and then her daddy and they are both smiling at her. She then looks to Daryl and gives him a smile. She then pulls the silver picture frame from within the box and holds it up so Daryl can see the black and white picture within, taken on the day of their wedding, right outside the church after the ceremony.

"Our wedding picture," Beth smiles widely.

Daryl takes it from her, holding it in his hands, looking at it with a small smile.

"This will be the first thing we hang in our new home," Beth tells her parents.

"You getting everything set to move to California?" Hershel asks.

"Yes, sir," Daryl gives a head nod. "My friend, Shane, is already out there. He's gotten a job with the orchards Sunkist owns. I hope to get a job at the same orchards."

"Oh, Sunkist," Annette smiles at that. "They have a recipe for a cake I have always wanted to try. Do you think you'll get free Sunkist?" She asks.

"If we do, we'll send you some. I promise," Beth smiles at her.

Annette looks at her and she's smiling but there are tears in her eyes and seeing her mother about to start crying, Beth feels her own eyes welling with tears. Annette reaches a hand out and cups her cheek.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Bethy," Annette says to her and Beth doesn't trust her own voice so all she does is nod her head quickly and Annette leans over in her chair and Beth leans over in hers and they hug one another tightly.

Beth tries not to think about how scared she is to move to California. She tells herself that she's excited because a large part of her is and she's ready for this next chapter of her life to begin. She focuses on that – she has to – rather than how scared she is and how much she's going to miss her parents and how when she thinks about it, she just wants to cry.

…

She moans softly as he fills her again and again and it's too hot to do this but the summer heat hasn't stopped them yet. She wraps her legs around his waist and holds onto him tight as his thrusts only speed up, him grunting in her ear with each snap of his hips against hers.

And when her back arches sharply and she cries out his name, all of her tightening around him, Daryl isn't too far behind and he groans and empties himself inside of her.

They lay there for a few seconds, their skin stuck together with sweat, and slowly, Daryl begins to pull himself away and Beth bites her lip so she doesn't whimper at the loss of him no longer being inside of her. He collapses on his back beside her and both of them are still breathing heavily, their chests panting up and down.

"Shane was tellin' me. A lot of the workers live in these little houses the orchard owns. Prob'ly no bigger than this," Daryl speaks quietly into the night.

"I can't wait to see it," Beth says softly in response and she means it. She's excited to see their new house and make it a home. She's never had a home of her own before. Not even this cabin counts as it's on her parents' farm and belongs to them.

"And if it's not good enough, we'll find an apartment somewhere," Daryl adds.

Beth rolls onto her side towards him. "It'll be good enough," she says with a firmness in her tone as if she already knows without a doubt in her mind. "I don't need that much, Daryl."

Daryl just smirks a little as if that's the funniest thing he's ever heard and doesn't say anything and Beth can't help but frown.

"I don't," she says. "I'm not some spoiled little girl."

Daryl quickly looks at her. "I know you ain't. All I meant was, you're used to livin' a certain way. Might be in for a shock when we get off your daddy's farm."

Beth stares at him for a moment, anger and sadness both rushing upwards, racing one another to see which one will be the first to reveal itself.

It's a mixture of both. Her words are hard but there is a sadness in her eyes and pressing down on her chest as she sits up, no longer able to keep her eyes on him.

"You think I'm weak," she said in a quiet, hard tone.

"I didn' say that, Beth," he sits up beside her.

"You didn't have to. It's pretty obvious what you think of me." She begins to climb from the bed but Daryl stops her, his fingers curling around her arm, and it's not a tight grip at all but it's enough to stop her movements.

"I don't think you're weak, Beth," he says, staring right into her eyes as if that will show her that he absolutely means it.

And Daryl Dixon doesn't lie.

Still, she's not an idiot. She may be sheltered and her life may have been easy up until this point but she knows what he thinks about her. Their lives have been so different. Growing up as poor as he had, being his dad's whipping boy for so long and then going off to war and fighting and getting shot at for three years. Beth doesn't know about any of that. Her parents hadn't even believed in spanking their children and the farm has always been a successful one and her life has been good and comfortable and safe. The worst thing to ever happen to her is when Shawn died but she thinks her brother dying made her a little stronger, too.

"I just mean… California ain't gonna be like it is here in Georgia," he says.

"I'm not weak," she repeats herself. "Or stupid. And I can't wait for us to get out there so I can finally show you all of that." She begins to try again to get out of bed but Daryl's hand tightens a bit more so she still can't leave.

"You don't gotta show me anythin'. I know you're tough and smart and you're the only person I would ever want comin' with me," Daryl tells her.

And Beth knows that he means it and yet, there's a part of herself that can't believe him.

…

She's been riding Nellie as much as she can before November. Usually each afternoon, she'll go into the barn and lead the horse out and ride her out to one of the far fields. Beth knows she's going to miss Nellie so much when she's gone and she doesn't know when she'll ever be able to ride a horse again.

Beth rubs her snout as Nellie chews a little on her hair. "I'm going to be happy," she tells the horse, as if the horse needs to know and be convinced of it. "I'm already happy. Most days, I didn't know it was possible to be this happy. And I love Daryl more than anything and… and I think he loves me. He hasn't said anything like that but… we are married, Nellie, and we're going to California together and some of the things he's said to me, a man can't say those kinds of things to a woman if he _doesn't_ love her."

 _"Guess you're my north star then."_

She's quiet for a moment and turns her head, looking back to the white farmhouse in the distance. She then looks up at the bright blue sky with the cotton ball puffs of clouds hanging overhead that day.

She knows California will have the same sky and the same clouds and the same sun but that's all it will have in common with Georgia and she does her best to blink the developing tears away. She doesn't want to cry. She _can't_ cry. She has just told Daryl that she isn't weak and crying certainly isn't going to help her case.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes and keeps stroking Nellie. She can't wait to get out to California. Maybe once they get out there, they'll be able to truly start their life together and everything will set itself right.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please review!**


	11. Harvesttime

**Beginning the journey to California in the next chapter.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Eleven.**

October arrives and the harvest begins and Daryl and Otis spend all day in the orchards, sun up to sun down, picking apples and filling crates and driving those crates back to the barn where Hershel sorts through them to separate the apples good enough to sell and the bad apples that can be used to feed the animals or give to his wife for baking.

Jimmy comes over to help with picking and after she's done with her morning chores, Beth comes out to help, too. It seems like endless work and Daryl wonders where all of these apples have come from because he didn't think the orchard was that big. But he's not afraid of hard work and he better get used to picking fruit.

He can hear Beth in the next row over and it's no surprise that she sings as she works. Otis sometimes joins her in a deep dramatic voice that surprises Daryl and they sing together until Beth dissolves into giggles and tells Otis that he should be the one always singing – not her.

In the afternoon, Beth always leaves to return to the house to help her mom start with dinner. Since the harvest started, he and Beth have been taking their meals again in the farmhouse kitchen with everyone else.

"How's it going?" Annette will ask at dinner every night and Hershel smiles.

"Might be our best year yet," he answers. "Well over a couple thousand pounds so far and we're nowhere near done. And between this year's corn and cotton, yes, sir. Best year yet."

Annette smiles at that and gives them all second helpings without them asking and by the time they have dessert, Daryl is yawning every few minutes but trying to hide it. Beth always notices though and tells her parents goodnight. She takes Daryl's hand and walks him down to the cabin and inside, he only has enough energy to strip himself down to his boxers before collapsing onto their bed.

…

"Ow!"

Daryl is up on a ladder but he nearly jumps down to the ground when he hears Beth's sharp exclamation from the next row. He races under the trees and finds her standing beside a half-full crate of apples, holding her hand.

"Wha' is it?" He asks – practically demands - and he feels his heart pounding in his ears. He takes her hand gently so he can see for himself.

"A bee stung me," she whimpers. "I'm fine, Daryl. I'm going to go see my mom so she can use the tweezers on me." She tries to pull her hand away but Daryl won't let it go, examining the redness of her finger. "Daryl," she says his name. "It's just a bee sting. It's not my first and I bet it won't be my last."

Daryl lifts his eyes to look at her and she looks at him, almost looking impatient.

"I'm strong enough to handle a bee sting, Daryl," she then says in a lowered voice.

This time, when she pulls her hand back, Daryl drops it so she can and he watches as she turns and begins walking down the row, heading back towards the house. A part of him wants to go with her but he chooses to stay back inside and just watch her until he sees her go into the house and only then does he return to the row he had been working in before running to Beth.

He doesn't think she's weak and he doesn't think he's done or said anything that would lead her to think that that's what he thinks about her. He knows she's scared and how the hell can he blame her for that? He's moving her clear across the country, away from everything and everyone she's ever known. But she's doing it, coming with him and a part of her seems almost eager to, and there's nothing weak about that. He actually thinks he's married a pretty damn strong girl.

He wishes he knew how to tell her that.

…

"Will you come with me?" Beth asks on Saturday evening, a couple of hours before the sun sets and he lifts his eyes from the knife he's sharpening. "I wanted to go and pick some blueberries. Was hoping to make a pie tomorrow for Sunday brunch."

"Yeah." Daryl doesn't hesitate in standing up, shoving the hunting knife back into the sheath hanging from his belt. He waits as she puts on her shoes and then gathers a basket to collect the berries in and he slings his crossbow onto his shoulder.

They don't talk as they walk into the woods, side by side, but she begins humming a soft tune and the hunter in him almost tells her to be quiet so she doesn't scare the game off but the man in him, the _husband_ , never wants her to stop. There's no better sound to his ears than any sound Beth makes. Once they reach the blueberry bushes, he stands by and watches as Beth keeps humming and begins picking the ripe blueberries, piling them into the basket at her feet.

The sun is beginning to lower itself in the western part of the sky and rays are filtering through the leaves dancing in the early fall breeze. Beth's wearing a pink cardigan sweater that matches the pink of her cheeks and her hair is down, catching the sun and the hem of her dress flutters around her knees.

"You're the prettiest thing I've ever seen," Daryl hears himself say the words before he even realizes it and Beth stops in her picking and turns her head, looking at him.

Her smile takes his damn breath away.

Beth's cheeks deepen to a darker shade of pink and her smile is shy but she doesn't look away from him. She takes a step towards him before stopping herself, as if unsure, and he closes the space between them himself, lifting his hands to her cheeks and kissing her. He doesn't know what's come over him.

All he knows is in that moment, it's not a want. He _needs_ to kiss her.

And Beth's arms loop around his neck and she doesn't make a sound of protest when he begins lowering her gently and slowly to the ground.

…

Beth's soft laughter mixes in with the crickets' song and his hands are folded behind his head, watching her as she sits up, her hands in her hair.

"I think I have more leaves in my hair than the trees have hanging on their branches," she says and he cracks a grin at that.

"Here," Daryl sits up and grabs his white undershirt, tugging it on over his head before he moves and shifts so he's sitting behind her and she's between his legs, her back to his chest.

He can't see her face but he can _hear_ her smile as his fingers begin gently pulling the leaves and little twigs tangled in her blonde hair. Daryl doesn't know what's come over him. He's never done anything like this before with a woman; has never been this open or this affectionate but not for the first time, he reminds himself that Beth is his wife and he's supposed to be like this with her. And he likes being this way when he's with her.

She's done something to him. It's like she's given him this warmth in his chest that he can feel throughout every square inch of his body and he doesn't know how to describe it other than that. It makes no sense to him and yet, he tries his best not to question it because this with Beth, he's not stupid enough to not realize that she's the best thing to ever happen to him and there's nothing in this world that he'll want to screw any of this up for.

"Daryl?" Beth says his name quietly. "Can I ask you something?"

Daryl doesn't say anything and she rightly interprets that as yes, she can.

"You never talk about your brother," she says and it's not what he's expecting – he doesn't know what he was expecting her to ask but it's not that and he can't help but stiffen slightly at the first mention of Merle.

He's quiet for a passing beat. "'s not a question," he finally croaks.

"The POWs are coming home. Every day, they're coming home. Do you think your brother will be able to find us in California?" She asks.

His fingers fall from her hair. "Merle didn' make it," he says almost too quietly for her to hear but Beth does hear him and she turns between his legs, facing him. She doesn't have to ask the question. It's clear on her face. "Can just feel it," he says with a shrug as his eyes fall away from hers and avoid looking at her at all.

Beth's quiet and he wonders what she's thinking but he doesn't ask. "And he was captured in Germany?" She asks. He's only mentioned his older brother once and she must remember everything of what little he had told her.

He nods once, still avoiding her eyes. "He didn' make it," he said, softer this time.

Beth leans forward then and her hands slide onto the sides of his neck. Her fingertips are cold and she doesn't ask him to but he finds himself tilting his chin up, immediately falling into her eyes. Even in the growing darkness of the woods around them, he can still see the startling clear blue of her eyes. Like the ocean.

She leans forward more and he expects her to kiss him but instead, her lips move upwards and press a soft kiss to his forehead, between his eyebrows, and Daryl doesn't know what it is but feeling her lips there, he closes his eyes and feels like just sagging against her as if all of the air has been pushed out of him like a balloon.

He's suddenly exhausted.

"Do you think Merle will like me?" Beth asks then and he notices that she's talking the present tense like she and Merle will actually meet in his life someday.

And he didn't think he would but Daryl feels himself actually smirking. "Prob'ly take one look at you and ask what the hell you were thinkin', marryin' me."

Beth smiles, too, almost laughing, and he notices moisture in her eyes as if she's going to start crying though he doesn't know why she would cry over Merle. Even he hasn't cried over Merle and he's his own brother.

"And I will tell him that his younger brother is the sweetest man I've ever met and there was no way I could live my life and _not_ be married to him," she replies.

And Daryl wants to laugh at that but he looks at her instead and feels the tips of his ears turn red. He lifts a hand then to her face and his thumb caresses her cheek.

"Can just imagine the shit Merle will give me for that one," he says quietly and she's got him talking in the present, too, and a ghost of a smile passes over her lips.

He's the one to pull her to him then and press their lips together.

…

When there's over thousands of pounds of apples picked, Hershel declares that they're done with harvesting and it's time to let the others in town come and pick their own. There's a small band made up of townsfolk that comes, setting up in the barn to play, and the women cook food and bake desserts for the party and the kids run around, picking and bobbing for apples in an old laundry basin that Otis has filled with water for them.

Beth's older sister, Maggie, comes down from Michigan where she owns a small grocery store with her husband, and Daryl finally gets to meet her. They don't look alike. Maggie is taller with short, brown curly hair and green eyes like a cat's. She's married to Glenn and Daryl can't help but frown when he first sees the man.

Beth, reading his mind, stands on her toes and leans into his ear. "He's Korean. Not Japanese," she whispers to him.

And Daryl shakes his hand but he's still frowning and Glenn must be reading his mind because he does his best to smile but he seems nervous. Maggie frowns at Daryl for frowning at her husband and Beth tries to make the best of the meeting quickly growing awkward and holds Daryl's hand tightly, talking with Maggie and Glenn all about California and all of the orange groves out there and how excited she is to see her first palm tree and to see the Pacific Ocean.

…

Beth and him go through the line at the tables spread with food and with pieces of apple pie and cups of coffee, they go into the orchard and sit down in the grass beneath one of the trees. They can hear kids scream as they chase one another and the band playing a Glenn Miller song.

"'m sorry," Daryl mumbles, daring a look at her.

He expects her to be pissed. He wouldn't really blame her if she is. Glenn is his brother-in-law and Daryl supposes that the man is his now, too. And he knows how much Beth loves her sister and how important family is to her.

"It's alright," Beth shakes her head slightly. "I should have said something earlier, before they came… I wasn't thinking."

"Would of reacted the same way if he was a German or Italian," he's still mumbling and Beth nods with understanding, moving to sit a little closer to him. "I'll try and talk with 'im again. If you wan'," he lifts his eyes to her as he says that.

She doesn't say anything but her smile is answer enough.

…

Glenn's standing, talking with one of the county's Sheriffs, and Daryl recognizes him as Rick Grimes from his wedding. Daryl approaches and when Glenn sees him coming, he stops talking in mid-sentence. Daryl isn't too sure what to say or what to do and Beth's not there to fill in the silence, having gone off to be with Maggie.

Rick stands, looking back and forth between Daryl and Glenn, trying to catch up and figure out the situation though it doesn't take a genius as to what's going on.

Daryl exhales a breath and then sticks his hand out. "Nice to meet you," he says to Glenn and waits.

Glenn doesn't make him wait long at all and he reaches his own hand out, shaking Daryl's. "Nice to meet you, too," he smiles broadly.

Feeling some of the earlier tension fade, they drop hands and Rick looks to Daryl now. without a word, he sticks his hand out and Daryl shakes his hand as well.

"When you heading out?" Rick asks him.

"Next week," Daryl answers and it's not surprising to him that the whole town knows he and Beth are leaving but he wonders just who exactly told all of them.

"Family's from Oklahoma originally. Moved out to California when the dust hit," Rick tells him.

"How'd you wind up here then?" Glenn asks what Daryl has also been wondering.

Rick smiles then and shrugs his shoulder. "Met a Georgia girl out there when she was visiting the coast with her family. Followed her home here."

Daryl glances over to see that Rick has spotted his wife, Lori, standing and talking with Annette, but then when he looks away, he looks back to Daryl and his smile is gone now, his frown slight.

Rick continues. "When you see Shane out there, you tell him to stay out there."

…

He wants to refuse. He's not nearly good enough to be doing this in public yet where people can watch but he's still trying to find something that he can say 'no' to when Beth asks and so, when she takes his hands and pulls him to the barn floor with a few other dancing couples, he doesn't try to pull away.

They do as they did at the 4th of July festival. He puts his hand on the small of her back and she rests her hand on the back of his neck this time, fingers playing with the hairs there, and their other hands clasp as they begin swaying back and forth to the song playing. He looks towards the stage when he hears a man begin to sing and he's surprised to see that it's Jimmy, standing there, holding the microphone and crooning out a Bing Crosby song he doesn't recognize.

Beth laughs a little at his reaction and she steps in closer to him and Daryl feels his body relax a little with her so close to him. He can smell her sweet scent and feel her warmth and his hand slips from her back so his arm is around her waist now, holding her as close as he can to his chest. Beth smiles brightly at the change and she turns her head, resting it against his chest and he wonders if she can hear how fast his heart is beating with her so near to him. He wonders if his heart will always speed up like this when Beth is near to him or if it will fade the longer they're married.

Daryl can't imagine that happening.

"You're getting good at this," she says softly up to him.

He smirks into her hair and the song is too fast for the speed in which they're swaying but neither make an attempt to speed their movements up to match.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please review!**


	12. Westward Bound

**I have been doing some thinking in regards to my stories and with this one and _Anything We Want_ , I think they're both going to be around 15 or so chapters. And after that, I am already brainstorming my next story idea but at this time, I don't know if I'm actually going to write it. Thank you so much to everyone reading my stories and continuing with your reviews and encouragement. It means more to me than I can say. **

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twelve.**

She's not going to cry. She tells herself this over and over again. She's not going to cry. She's eighteen and she's married and did she really think she would stay on the farm with her parents for the rest of her life? Daryl's her husband and they have to go where the work is. She can't expect him to be alright with living off her parents. He wants to move to California and she's supporting him completely with this decision.

She doesn't cry when Hershel surprises them and gifts them with the pickup truck. She can tell that Daryl wants to refuse but Hershel won't hear of it as he pushes the key into Daryl's hand. Or when Annette gives them a camera – another wedding present she explains.

She doesn't cry as Daryl and Otis load their two trunks into the back bed of the truck. Trunks which contain their clothes and her entire life – to be moved across the country and won't be opened again until they're in their new home in California. A new home that she can't even imagine in her mind yet, having absolutely no concept or idea of what it will be like.

She doesn't cry as she hugs Otis, Patricia and Jimmy goodbye. Jimmy promises that he'll come out and visit her one day. He wants to try and meet a movie star – preferably Rita Hayworth – and Beth laughs, forgetting for a moment all about wanting to just sit down and cry.

And when it does happen, she can't help it and she does begin to cry when she hugs her parents goodbye. Her mom is crying, too, and her dad has unshed tears in his eyes and she hugs them long and tight and she promises that she and Daryl will visit . How true that promise is though, she doesn't known. None of them do. She also promises to write at least once a week.

And after Daryl says his own goodbyes, and Beth hugs her parents one more time, Daryl holds the door open for her and she gets into the truck. Daryl walks around and slides into the seat behind the wheel and the truck rumbles beneath them as he turns the key and the engine roars to life.

As he drives down the dirt road, Beth turns in her seat and sticks her head out the window, waving as they all watch them drive away and looking at the farm for the last time, wanting to remember every single detail of it.

…

Sometime, when they're still in Georgia but exactly where, she has no idea, Daryl reaches his right hand across the bench seat, his left still on the wheel, and he rests it over Beth's hand as it rests on the seat next to her.

Beth had been looking out the window, tears brimming her eyes but no more are falling, and when she feels his hand, she turns and he's looking at her and she gives him a small smile. His eyes go back to the road and she turns her hand over so she can grasp his, him grasping hers in return.

"I'm so used to eating apples all of the time," Beth says, wiping at her cheeks with her other hand though they are dry. "I suppose oranges will be the fruit of our house now." She feels her lips twitching in an almost smile.

Daryl looks at her again before back to the road. "Won't ever have to worry about scurvy," he says and Beth feels laughter bubble in her throat – as if they ever worried about that in the first place. He squeezes her hand again.

She lets out a soft breath. "I'm sorry for crying."

Daryl shrugs. "I'd be more worried if you didn' cry when we left," he admitted. He looks at her again but can only do so for a moment before his eyes go back to the road. "If you ain't happy out there, you tell me and we'll get you on a bus to come home," he then says.

Beth shakes her head and she moves across the seat so she's right next to him. He glances at her and then his hand slowly slips from hers so he can lift his arm and put it around her shoulders, holding her to him. For the first time that day, Beth does smile and she burrows herself into his side.

"I won't be going anywhere, Daryl. California is going to be our home," she tells him quietly and then turns her head to look at him. " _You're_ my home," she then adds in a whisper and Daryl's eyes move from the road once more to look at her.

She's not sure what his particular expression is. She can't decipher it but his eyes are dark and intense as they stare at her and she feels her stomach tighten. And then, despite driving, Daryl glances back quickly to the road to make sure nothing's coming before back at her and he presses his lips to hers.

…

He drives them all day and finally stop at a roadside motel for the night somewhere in Mississippi. He gets them a room for the night and they eat a dinner of cold chicken and slices of apple pie that Beth had packed on their bed.

Beth takes a shower to wash the day of traveling off her body and when she comes out of the bathroom again, clutching the towel around her wet body, Daryl is on the bed in his boxers and white undershirt, staring up at the ceiling. It's a cool night and Daryl has turned on the radiator so there's a slow stream of heat flowing into the room. Nonetheless, Beth shivers and hurries to her suitcase on the dresser. She drops the towel and slips her nightgown on and when she turns around, she sees that Daryl is now sitting up, watching her.

She gives him a small smile – almost a shy smile – and she picks the towel up to return it to the bathroom, rubbing it over her hair one more time. She then comes out and takes her brush, sitting on the edge of the bed beside him. She hums to herself as she begins to untangle her damp hair and she can feel Daryl watching her.

"I'm excited," she then admits in a quiet voice.

"You are?" He asks and she turns her head to look at him, smiling a little easier.

"It will be weird at first. And scary. All I know is Georgia. But it's _California_ , Daryl. It always looks so glamorous in the reels shown before the movies. And hundreds of people are going there every day so there must be something about it that's good," she tells him.

"Hmmmm," Daryl muses but doesn't say anything else.

She finishes with her hair and sets her brush down before turning herself more towards him. "Are you excited?"

Daryl hesitates, as if he doesn't want to admit that he is, but then he nods his head once. "Shane says there's a ton of money out there. Excited to make some for us."

"I can't wait to see our new home," she says with a smile. "I wonder what it will be like, living on an orange grove."

"Prob'ly not that different from livin' on an apple orchard," he says.

"No," she shakes her head and a dreamy smile creeps across her face. "I bet it's different. Maybe it's even a little better."

…

The motel has a diner attached and for breakfast, they eat scrambled eggs and pieces of toast and she blushes as Daryl reaches across the table and wipes at a smudge of strawberry jam from her chin with his thumb.

Outside, before he can get into the truck, Beth hurries to the trunk where she has packed the camera and she pulls it out.

"Wait, Daryl," she says with laughter in her voice.

He sees the camera in her hand and immediately shakes his head. "No one wan's to see my picture."

"I do," she disagrees, giving him a smile. "I want to show our children one day what their daddy looked like when we moved west."

She hasn't mentioned children to him since that night in their cabin. A part of her hasn't wanted to, treating her animal like a startled rabbit she didn't want to scare away further and the topic of children definitely didn't seem as if it was his favorite. She means everything she had said to him though.

She does want children and he isn't anything like his father. Her husband doesn't have a mean bone in his body, it seems to her.

She has always wanted to be a mother and can't imagine her and Daryl not having any – especially with how many times they have made love since they have gotten married. She has only been able to hope that if she does find herself pregnant – sooner rather than later – Daryl will find himself happy once he hears the news.

Daryl blinks at her and doesn't say anything. He doesn't protest either and instead, he stands beside the truck, clearly not too sure what to do with himself. Beth smiles at him and then looks into the box, making sure the picture is lined up and clear before she presses the button.

"There," she beams at him. "Absolutely painless."

His lips twitch in a small smile at that and he steps forward, taking the camera from her. He waves his hand towards the truck. "Now you," he says.

Beth practically skips to the truck, turning around and straightening her skirt and fixing her hair before looking at the camera and beaming brightly. And he looks into the box and smiles as he presses the button and the camera snaps her picture.

She takes the camera back from him and gives him a quick peck on his lips, pulling away before he can even really react to it. "We're going to have to get someone to take our picture for us so we can be in one together."

Daryl doesn't argue. Just nods his head. And this time, Beth kisses him long enough for him to react and he does, one of his hands cupping the back of her head and she loops her arms around his shoulders, smiling against his lips.

…

"How can a farm girl like you not know how to drive?" Daryl grumbles as they it on some random back road somewhere in Louisiana.

She just shrugs and feels a little embarrassed. "I never needed to know," she says. "I had Nellie or someone else who was always driving."

"A'right," Daryl said after a moment. "Looks like it's up to me then. I'm not gonna have you stuck at home all day while I'm workin'. I don't know how close everythin' we need is gonna be and I don't wan' you walkin' until we get to know the place."

Beth nods as she sits in the seat behind the steering wheel, getting herself comfortable. Daryl sits close beside her and takes her hand from her lap, guiding them to the wheel, which she wraps her fingers around. He points to the pedals.

"Gas. Brake. And make sure you got your gear stick on the "D"," he tells her and Beth nods her head rapidly, looking at everything he is referring to. "Le's see what you got," he says and no sooner do the words leave his mouth that Beth presses the gas pedal all the way down to the floor.

The tires squeal on the pavement and the truck shoots forward roughly and Beth lets out a squeak of surprise as they fire forward. She slams down on the brake just as quickly and the truck slams to a stop, Daryl and Beth shooting forward and Daryl slaps his hand on the front dashboard to stop himself. He looks at her and she's panting and her cheeks are flushed. He seems to be a little out of breath, too.

"Sorry," she almost grimaces.

Daryl looks at her for a moment and then chuckles softly, shaking his head and Beth exhales a breath she hadn't realized she's holding.

He settles himself back beside her. "Le's try again. _Slower_ this time," he then adds and Beth nods, her heart still beating like a drum in her chest and her palms feel sweaty as she circles her fingers around the wheel this time. He scoots even closer to her until his side is pressed to hers. "Pretend it's Nelly and you can't be approachin' her too fast or she'll get nervous and run away. You gotta be gentle."

Beth nods and tries to concentrate even as his breath is warm across her skin and his words are so soft, she nearly shivers, and she just wants to turn and kiss him on this empty road with no one around for miles.

…

It rains through most of Texas and their radio is nothing but static so Beth sings every song she can think of and when the radio signal does come back, she's grateful because her throat is starting to scratch.

"We're gonna have to find someone out there you can sing for," Daryl says.

"No," she quickly shakes her head and feels herself blush as she keeps her eyes straight ahead through the windshield. "I just want to sing for you."

"Movin' to California. Chance for people to become somebodies," he looks to her and she turns her head, looking to him. "You could be somebody, too."

"I _am_ somebody," she tells him.

He's quiet for a few minutes after that. "I guess you not wantin' to be famous isn't a bad thing. You'd prob'ly leave my ass for Clark Gable. No famous singer would stay married to a man who picks oranges."

Beth stares at him and she can't help the heavy frown that takes over her face. Daryl, seeming to sense it, glances at her and then quickly looks to the road again.

"Is that what you really think? Of me?" She asks him in a low voice. "That I'm just the kind of girl to be with someone until someone else comes along?"

"I didn' say that," he said, now frowning as well.

Beth sighs softly and turns her head to look out the passenger side window. "Yes, you did."

She watches the rain droplets chance one another down the glass and she doesn't say anything else. The further they have gotten away from Georgia, the more time they have spent together, just the two of them, she has felt her sadness ebb away and as they drive through swamp and prairie and now the dessert, things she has only ever seen as pictures in books, her excitement and happiness have grown.

But now, her mood matches the heaviness of the dark gray rain clouds outside.

She wonders when her husband will finally believe that she truly loves him.

…

Somewhere in New Mexico, they get a flat tire and Daryl manages to get them to the nearest service station so they can buy a new one. Daryl changes it himself and the owner of the garage asks if Daryl is looking for a job but Daryl just shakes his head and thanks him for the tire.

"Let's go eat," Beth says, taking his hand and pulling him towards the small diner next to the station.

Inside, they sit on vinyl stools at the lunch counter and order hamburgers and Beth orders herself a vanilla milkshake and she can see Daryl watching her as she closes her lips around the straw. She moves her eyes to him and gives him a small smile.

"What?" She asks, slightly unnerved as he keeps looking at her and not saying anything. "Daryl, what?" She laughs a little and pushes a hand on his knee.

For a moment – she can't explain it – but for a moment, she thinks he's about to tell her that he loves her.

Daryl still doesn't say anything though. He just shakes his head and then leans in, a hand sliding onto the back of her head and it's not like him to kiss her when there are other people around like this but she certainly doesn't complain as he leans into her and his lips meet hers.

…

They get the man at the service station to take their picture – standing beside their truck, her arms around his waist and his arm around her shoulders. She smiles broadly and Daryl's lips twist slightly into his own version of a smile and the man counts to three before snapping the picture.

Beth begins to step away to go and collect the camera but Daryl stops her, keeping to her side and he hugs her. Beth smiles faintly up at him, not entirely sure why he is showing her so much affection like this in front of others all of a sudden but she isn't going to ask him.

She just hugs him in return, closing her eyes and pressing her nose into his shoulder, and she only hopes he keeps with these open displays when they finally arrive in their new life.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	13. The Grove

…

 **Chapter Thirteen**.

Working in an orange grove is much like working in an apple orchard. It's damn hard word – a lot of back-breaking labor that ends the day with him collapsing in bed. There are three other guys who work the rows in his section of the massive Sunkist orchards with him – Shane, Bob and Tyreese. Bob and Tyreese were both in the war, too, but had been stationed over in the Pacific and the four spend their time exchanging stories from different sides of the world.

Getting a job at the grove is easy enough and Daryl and Beth get themselves a little white house that had been built in a row of identical little white houses for the other workers and their families.

Beth has never had a home that belongs to her and just her and she spends her days fixing it up just the way she wants. Every night when Daryl walks through the door, he hears her humming from one of the rooms and she comes hurrying to him when she hears that he's home.

There's nothing better in Daryl's opinion than Beth rushing up to him and throwing her arms around his neck, peppering his face with kisses after a long day of work and for those first few minutes, he forgets how sore and tired he is.

…

He makes a little above minimum wage. Fifty cents an hour and it's good money and he feels like that if this keeps up, he'll have absolutely no problem taking care of Beth. And anyone else who comes along. He's still not really on board with the idea but she has mentioned having a baby a couple of more times since getting to California and Daryl has resigned himself to the fact that it will probably happen though he's not that happy about the idea, if he's being honest with himself.

He gets Sundays and Mondays off and he always makes sure to use one of those days to take Beth somewhere. She usually wants to go to the ocean and she can spend hours, just sitting in the sand and watching the waves.

He takes her to Grauman's Chinese Theatre one afternoon and they look at the different foot and handprints. Clark Cable, Gary Cooper, Myrna Loy. Daryl makes sure he gets a picture of Beth kneeling in front of Judy Garland's prints and seeing how their prints differ.

Beth laughs as she stands up and brushes her hands and knees off. "We definitely have to send that one to my parents. They'll love it," she says and he nods, smiling a little himself, handing her back the camera.

They go get burgers and shakes and Beth is always on the lookout for a celebrity. Daryl wonders if she notices the people stealing glances at her, trying to figure out whether they've seen her before or not, wondering to themselves if she's famous.

Daryl doesn't doubt that he's married to the prettiest girl in all of Los Angeles.

…

There's a kid who works at the grove with them. Zach. His dad's a foreman and Zach works in a section not too far from his. Zach's in his early twenties and had been enlisted, too, but he hadn't seen too much except cleaning out the planes once they returned to the base. He's good-looking and closer to Beth's age and Daryl always scowls when he sees him smiling in Beth's direction.

Beth is nice to everyone and smiles at everyone and Daryl tries to remind himself of this when he comes home one evening after work and Beth is standing on the porch and Zach is standing on their walkway, smiling up at her and talking with her.

"Hey, you," Beth's face lights up the instant her eyes see Daryl and he grunts a hello before stepping up onto the porch beside her.

He looks to Zach as Beth lifts herself on her toes and gives his kiss a cheek and though Zach's smile has faded a little, it's still on his face and Daryl feels like punching something. Preferably him.

"Dinner's just about finished cooking. You want to go inside and wash up?" She asks him though he knows her well enough to know that it's not really a question. More like a gentle order.

Daryl gives his head a nod and goes into the house though he's reluctant to do so and leave his wife alone outside with that pretty boy. But Beth comes inside just a handful of seconds later and he hears her humming in the kitchen.

"What'd he want?" Daryl asks, coming into the kitchen, sitting down at the table.

"I went to the store earlier today for baking cocoa but they were all out. Zach was bringing me some that his mom had in her kitchen," Beth explains, setting the table with plates and silverware. "I promised him a slice of the cake I'm going to bake."

Daryl grunts but doesn't say anything to that. Seems harmless enough and he trusts Beth. He has no reason not to. And he has no reason to be jealous. Beth makes it a secret from no one – especially him – just how much she loves him.

…

Shane is having a blast living in Los Angeles. Tyreese is married to Karen and Bob is practically married to Tyreese's sister, Sasha, so Shane hangs out with the other single men working at the grove. His main companion besides Daryl is Len and Daryl takes one look at him and feels like he's known the guy his whole life.

A rough and tumble kind of guy. Trashy. Loves trouble. Uneducated. Growing up, Daryl knew nothing but these kinds of guys. Hell, if it hadn't been for the war and enlisting, Daryl knows he would have been just like them. Len didn't fight. He has some sort of twitch that got him medically exempted from the draft and Daryl knows there was a part of Len that's pissed off about it. He has said more than once that he had wanted to go over there and kill some people. Shane just laughs loudly at that but Daryl always frowns to himself when Len says that. He had killed people in the war and he doesn't think there is a damn thing glamorous about it.

Shane and Len usually go out after work, going to various bars and restaurants throughout the city and they always invite Daryl to come even though he usually always turns them down. He likes going home to be with his wife and he doesn't think there's anything wrong with that.

"Whipped to the extreme, he is," Shane says to Len loud enough for Daryl to hear. "Course, he went and married himself a young lil' number and you just know she's got the stuff to keep a man in her bed."

If it was anyone else saying those things about Beth, Daryl wouldn't hesitate in punching him but this is Shane. He's the closest thing Daryl's got to a brother anymore and he can't just go around, punching his brother. So he just shoots a scowl at him which only makes Shane grin and laugh.

"Yeah, I've seen her walking around," Len agrees. "Definitely the hottest gal I've seen in a long time. What she see in you anyway, Dixon?"

Daryl shrugs and doesn't answer, taking a puff of his cigarette instead. It's definitely something he's asked himself every day since Beth married him.

…

Christmas comes. Their first Christmas together and his first since being back in the States. They go to the drugstore and buy one of those artificial green trees and Beth picks out ornaments and lights and garland. They set it up in their living room in front of the large picture window and they listen to Bing Crosby singing his holiday songs as they spend the day decorating. Daryl's never decorated a Christmas tree before and Beth has his place the star at the top when they're done.

"It's our tradition from now on. Every year, you'll put the star on top of our Christmas tree," she smiles up at him.

Daryl knows he takes her aback when he leans down and suddenly kisses her but it's only for a second before she loops her arms around his neck and kisses him back. He doesn't even take her into their bedroom. He winds up making love to her right on the floor of the living room beside their Christmas tree.

…

"This is why I ain't never gettin' married, man," Shane frowns. "I like my balls and your lil' wife keeps yours in a jar underneath the bed."

"She does not," Daryl frowns back and he can't help but bristle at the statement. "I can do whatever the hell I want and Beth knows that."

Shane smirks now, as if that's the most amusing thing he's ever heard. "Does she?"

Daryl just keeps frowning at him.

He doesn't know why it's bothering him so much. Shane always says that to him whenever Shane asks him to come out with him and Len and Daryl never pays any attention to it. But he looks at Shane and Shane is looking at him knowingly as if he already knows and he's just waiting for Daryl to catch up and figure it out.

Daryl is still scowling when he stomps into his house.

"Hi," Beth smiles at him from where she's ironing in the living room. "I have a plum pie cooling on the counter if you want to try the first slice."

"I'm goin' out with Shane," he informs her without any kind of prelude.

"Oh!" Her eyes widen for a moment as she looks at him. "Where are you going?" She then asks and she's just being curious and Daryl knows that but he thinks of Shane's knowing smirk and he just frowns at her.

"I ain't askin' for your permission," he then informs her.

Beth looks at him with a mixture of stun and surprise and she shakes her head slightly. "I know you're not, Daryl-" she begins to say but Daryl cuts her off by turning around and heading for the door again.

"I'll be back later," he tells her over his shoulder and with that, he leaves again.

…

There are girls at the bars and restaurants Shane and Len go to who are attracted to service men like bees on honey. And the setup is pretty easy. Shane and Len buy girls dinner in exchange for their company.

"So they're hookers."

Daryl frowns once Shane explains it to him and he sits there, wondering why the hell he was so stubborn about coming out with them. He could be home with Beth and really, that's all he ever wants. But instead, he's here and there's women smiling at him and looking him up and down and Daryl just keeps frowning.

"Only if you want 'em to be. Some want the evening to go that way. Some don't. Some just want a meal," Shane says and claps a hand on his back before heading towards a girl at the bar.

Daryl is just about to turn and walk back out but a girl suddenly appears at his side.

"Hi," she says and smiles up at him. Her skin is pale and her dark hair is twisted into some fancy up-do and her lips are a dark red.

Daryl looks down at her. She's older than Beth. At least he thinks she is. Beth is young and she looks young. She wears simple dresses and likes walking around barefoot and hardly wears any makeup. His wife is a country girl. Girls out here are like a whole other breed and he wonders how long they take, getting themselves ready to go out. They always look like they're waiting to be photographed.

"I've never seen you here before," she continues, the same smile across her lips.

"I'm married," Daryl tells her and holds his hand up so she can see the ring.

She doesn't even bat an eye though and keeps smiling. "Married men have to eat, too, don't they?"

…

Beth's in bed when he comes home and he's quiet as he strips down to his boxers and undershirt. He knows he smells like cigarette smoke and perfume and he wants to be able to explain himself before Beth gets the wrong idea about what he did tonight away from her.

He eases himself down in the bed beside her and he listens to her breathing, soft and deep and even and he knows she's asleep. He lays there and figures he'll explain himself in the morning when they eat breakfast. He doesn't think Beth will think the worst of him but he just wants to be safe. She didn't marry a cheater. He isn't his old man who had probably never been faithful a day to his mom and he needs to make sure that Beth knows that.

He makes sure he doesn't touch her as he tries to go to sleep.

Even though he hadn't done anything with that other woman, and hadn't _wanted_ to do anything, he still feels guilty like he did. He doesn't know if he deserves to touch Beth right now.

When he wakes up the next morning, Beth is already gone from bed and he smells breakfast in the air.

He heads across the hall to find her at the stove, wearing one of his white undershirts and her hair pulled back in a braid. He hesitates for a moment, as he always finds himself doing when he looks at her before reminding himself that he can, and he goes to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

She doesn't stiffen or startle and she continues scrambling the pan of eggs.

"Daryl, I'm pregnant," she then informs him, quietly, so bluntly as if she's just informing him that the sun did in fact rise that morning.

Daryl forgets everything he had wanted to tell her from last night and he steps back. He can feel his head start to spin and he holds onto the back of one of the chairs at the table to make sure he stays steady on his feet. Beth moves the pan from the stove's burner and then turns to look at him.

She's looking at him with her big eyes and she looks nervous and scared and hopeful all at once and Daryl blinks back at her. He knows she wants him to say something but he doesn't know what that should be. It's been no secret that she's been wanting a baby and it's been no secret that he's been unsure about the whole damn thing.

"It's mine?" He hears himself ask though he honestly doesn't know why he does.

Beth lets out some sort of gasp. "What… what kind of question is that?" She stutters.

There is so much hurt now, flooding in her eyes, that Daryl can't look at her anymore. And he doesn't know what to say either. He has no idea where that question had come from. As if there was even the remotest possibility that the baby in Beth's belly right now isn't his. He had absolutely no reason to ask her something like that and almost wishes she would slap him for that though he knows she never would do something like that.

So, he doesn't say anything else. He still feels the room – or his head, he can't be sure – spinning around him but somehow, he manages to turn around, turning his back on her.

"I gotta get ready for work," he mumbles and leaves the kitchen, heading for the bathroom, wondering if he's going to be sick because his stomach is rolling like he is.

He can't be a dad. He doesn't care what Beth has said to him. He's a Dixon and what the hell does he know about being a dad? He didn't have an example of one growing up and Beth knows all of that. But she just kept pushing for a baby because it was what _she_ wanted and she clearly doesn't give a damn about him or what he wants. She doesn't care that he's scared or unsure or that his back is riddled with scars from his own dad. She doesn't care about any of that. Beth only cares about Beth and what Beth wants.

Maybe Shane's been right this whole time about who's really in charge in this marriage. He never would have ever thought Beth as being selfish but her getting pregnant and standing there with that hope in her eyes, like she was expecting him to be happy, too, it's starting to really piss him off. Hell, no, he isn't happy.

He feels his sickness being replaced with growing anger as he gets himself dressed.

When he walks past the kitchen for the front door, he pretends he doesn't see her sitting at the table and he pretends he doesn't hear her crying. He pretends he's the only one in the house right now and when he leaves, he hears himself close the door a little too loudly behind him but he tells himself that he doesn't even notice.

…

"You better slow down, Daryl, or you'll collapse," Tyreese warns him as he holds out a cup of water for him to take.

Daryl feels the sweat pouring down his face and back and the muscles in his arms are aching from having picked pound after pound of oranges that morning. He stands on the ladder for another moment before catching his breath and looking down to Tyreese, giving him a slight head nod, admitting that he's right.

He comes down the ladder and leans against it, out of breath, and takes the cup of water from Tyreese, taking a greedy chug. He can hear ambulance sirens somewhere off in the nearby distant and the laughter and talk of the other men the sun is beating down on them. For only being February, it's damn hot out.

"Is everything alright?" Tyreese asks him.

"Beth's pregnant," Daryl hears himself mumble and looks to Tyreese as the large man breaks into a wide smile.

"Congratulations!" He exclaims but his smile starts to fade as Daryl has no reaction to his words and takes another sip of water. "Not congratulations?" He ventures.

Daryl just shakes his head and Tyreese's smile is completely gone now.

"Daryl!"

Someone screams his name from somewhere through the trees and Daryl immediately pushes himself from the ladder, his eyes trying to find the person who's screaming his name in a way that makes his blood go cold.

"Daryl!" It's Sasha and she's running as fast as she can. She bursts into their row and she stops as soon as she sees him, gasping for air.

"What?" He demands of her, going to her, his own heart beginning to pound rapidly as if he is the one who has just sprinted a distance. "Wha' is it?" He takes hold of her arms and almost shakes her.

"It's Beth. You have to go. They're putting Beth in an ambulance!" Sasha gets out but that's all Daryl waits to hear before he's the one taking off now, running through the trees as fast as he can towards the rows of houses, the whirring of ambulance sirens getting louder in his ears.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	14. Fix It

**You guys are all awesome.**

 **And I know most of you want Beth to kill Daryl but things were a little different in the 1940s. Also, this story is going to be a little longer than fifteen chapters. Might be closer to twenty now. Maybe eighteen.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Fourteen.** Fix You.

Her eyes flutter open and for a moment, she can see nothing but white.

For a moment, she thinks she's dead.

But then she feels the soreness in her body and she feels absolutely exhausted as if she hasn't slept in days. It takes her another moment but her eyes start to adjust and she can see that she is in a hospital room. That's all the white she's seeing. Practically everything in the room is white. White walls and a white bed frame and white bed sheets. She looks down and sees that the gown she's wearing is white, too.

She then looks and sees Daryl sitting in the chair beside her bed, his head down on the mattress beside her hand and she can hear his even breaths as he sleeps. She has no idea what happened or how long she's been here but she knows that looking at Daryl, seeing him there, she feels like she could start crying.

…

She drifts off again and when she wakes up, Daryl is awake this time, still sitting in the chair, staring at her. He looks like he hasn't slept in days even though she saw him do it and his eyes look lightly pink – almost as if he's been crying, too. She can't be sure though. She's never seen her husband cry. She's never seen her husband do so many things. There are so many things she doesn't know about the man sitting beside her hospital bed but right now, she doesn't even know if she wants to know anything about him. She loves him so much – has thought she loves him – but right now, she feels nothing but a painful ache in the center of her chest as their eyes lock.

"Hey," he says in his gruff, slightly rough, voice and leans towards the bed. "How are you feeling?" He asks. His hand rests over hers but Beth slowly pulls her hand away, slipping both beneath the bed covers so he can't touch them.

"Is the baby alright?" She asks because right now, the baby is all she cares about.

He looks at her for a moment and he looks guilty and in that time, she feels her heart speed up and stop altogether as it drops down to her stomach.

"Yeah," he answers softly with a head nod. "Everythin's alright."

She exhales a heavy sigh of relief and sinks back into the pillows behind her. She doesn't look at Daryl again. She can't look at him. She doesn't want to. She thinks of just that morning. Of his shirt in the hamper that smelled of women's perfume. Of his reaction to her telling him about the baby. About the question he asked and the way he might as well have just slashed at her with a thousand knives.

"I'll go get the doctor. Tell 'im you're awake," Daryl suggests but he doesn't get up. She can feel his eyes staring at her but she keeps her eyes focused on the ceiling. she doesn't know what she'll do if she looks at him right then. "'m sorry, Beth," he then whispers. "'m really sorry. For everything. For pullin' away from you over the past few days and askin' you… that."

Beth just keeps staring at the ceiling, feeling her throat grow dry and thick. She doesn't want to cry though. Not in front of him at least. Doesn't want him to know that he has completely split her heart open though she supposes he already knows that. Or maybe he doesn't. He never believes her whenever she tells him she loves him so why would he think he has the ability to hurt her so deeply.

"No, I'm sorry," she whispers in response. "It's my fault we got married. I loved you and I wanted to be with you and I guess I convinced you that it's what you wanted."

"It is what I want, Beth," he says and she feels him lean in closer to the bed. "You and me gettin' married, 's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Beth is quiet for a moment but then just shakes her head. There's just no way she can ever believe him.

…

Once the doctor comes into the room, Daryl gets up and stands at the foot of the bed as the doctor stands beside her and explains what happens. There was some bleeding and she fainted but the baby is still alive and alright. She was just experiencing a bit of stress at the moment and that was her body's way of telling her that she needs to relax.

She glances at Daryl and sees that he stands there, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes cast down towards the floor as the doctor says all of that; as if he's a kid who's just been caught stealing from the cookie jar and is appropriately feeling guilty. The doctor pats her hand before he leaves again – his parting words of telling her that the first trimester is a trying time and she needs to take it easy – and then it's just her and Daryl again alone in the room.

"'m gonna go home and get you a dress to wear out of here," he says, still standing at the foot of the bed.

Beth nods and doesn't say anything. She really doesn't know what to say to him anymore. She was so scared to come out here but also, excited to start her new life with him but now, she knows that coming out here was just the worst thing. She'd be happy if she left Los Angeles and never saw it again.

"Beth," he says her name then in a quiet voice and she isn't sure why but she lifts her eyes this time to look at him. "'m sorry," he says again.

"You've said that already," she reminds him.

"But I mean it. I… I'm gonna make everythin' right again," he said and he was speaking with such conviction, she found herself looking at him and almost believing that he was telling the truth.

She loves him. She really does. She can't help it. Love isn't like a light switch. It just can't be turned off and on whenever the person wants. She loves Daryl completely and he has hurt her so deeply but the love for him hasn't just disappeared.

"Your shirt smelled like perfume," she says in such a soft voice, she doesn't think Daryl is able to hear her.

But he does and he comes around the bed, slowly easing himself down in the chair once more. "Shane and Len buy women dinners when they go out. There was a woman… I kept tellin' her I was married and I wasn't interested…" he trails off and Beth turns her head on the pillow, setting her eyes on him. "Nothin' happened, Beth. I didn' _want_ anythin' to happen. You're all I want."

She nods then, almost automatically, as if it's a lie she's heard so many times, she's resigned herself to it. But deep down, she believes him. Daryl isn't the sort of man to cheat. She doesn't know him nearly as well as a wife should know her husband but she knows what sort of man he is and there's not a part of Daryl who's a cheater.

He may not love her but he's not out, looking to love someone else.

…

"Welcome home, Beth!" Karen calls out from the front porch of hers and Tyreese's house next door to theirs as Daryl helps Beth walk slowly into their house.

"Thank you, Karen," Beth gives her a small smile in return.

Daryl's arm is firm around her waist and they ease her up the steps together. Inside the house, the first thing she notices is that everything has been straightened up. She had been in the kitchen, cleaning up from breakfast yesterday morning when she had fainted, and looking into the kitchen now, she sees that it has all been cleaned up and everything put away.

She looks to Daryl, the question silent in her eyes.

"Cleaned everythin' up when I came home to get your dress," he explained and she noticed the tips of his ears turning red – a sure sign of him being embarrassed.

"Thank you," she murmurs softly as he leads her towards the bedroom.

He shrugs a little. "Already told you. Not expectin' you to wait on me all the time. 's my house, too."

Beth's not too sure what to say about that.

In their bedroom, the bed's been made, too, but now, Daryl's arm leaves her waist so he can pull back the covers for her. She slowly sits down – her body still a bit sore and her hand goes over her still-flat abdomen as if she can feel the baby already. Daryl kneels in front of her and before she can tell him he doesn't have to do that, he begins slipping her shoes off.

"Shane's the only brother I got left," he suddenly breaks the silence. He lifts his head, still kneeling, and he looks up at her. "We've seen things together that no one else would be able to understand."

She finds herself nodding. She knows. Two men who went through a war together, that would form a bond that would be pretty much unbreakable.

"But he doesn' know shit about us and I was stupid enough to act like he did." He visibly swallows. "I ain't never had anyone love me at all, let alone someone who loves me the way you do. I just don't know what to do with it most of the time."

Beth doesn't know what to say or what he would want her to say to any of this. But Daryl stands up then and he's quiet and he clearly doesn't expect her to say anything. He gently lifts her legs and swings them around to the bed, slipping them beneath the covers.

"Daryl," she almost feels herself wanting to laugh. "I'm not an invalid."

Daryl just shakes his head. "Lemme take care of you," he tells her in a low voice.

She lies back and rests her head on the pillow. "Only if you want to," she whispers.

He doesn't say anything in response. He just leans down and presses his lips to her forehead in a kiss.

…

She sleeps most of the day and when her eyes begin to open, it's only because her stomach is grumbling and she smells food being cooked. Her body's hardly sore at all anymore and she is able to sit up and pull herself from bed without wincing.

She leaves the bedroom and heads across the hall to the kitchen to where Daryl is standing at the stove, unaware of her being there. She looks at him for a moment. She thinks of how much she loves him; of how much he's hurt her; of how truly sorry he seems about it all.

She wonders if she should cross the kitchen and come up behind him like he always does to her and wrap her arms around his waist. She wonders if she should do that or if she wants to keep being hurt and angry at him.

Before she can do anything though, Daryl suddenly turns and sees her there.

"What are you doin' out of bed?" He asks and he's frowning heavily at her.

"I was hungry," she explains.

"I'll bring the food to you," he says and crosses the small room to her.

"Daryl!" She exclaims as he suddenly sweeps her up in his arms and carries her back to their bedroom, gently placing her down onto the bed again. "How long do I have to stay in bed, Dr. Dixon?" She asks him, a light teasing in her tone, and he must hear it because it almost looks like his lips want to twitch at that.

"Until I'm sure you and the baby are gonna be fine," he says.

Beth watches him leave the room again as she settles herself back against her pillow. It's the first time he's mentioned the baby at all.

…

"Ain't you sick of drinkin' that stuff?" He asks, sitting beside her in their bed and watching as she sips at her glass of orange juice.

"No," she smiles a little. "I love it and I'm proud that I have a husband who picked all of these oranges," she says, looking to him.

He looks at her and smirks a little a minute later, shaking his head. "Not all of 'em."

He has made them bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with mayonnaise on toasted bread and she almost eats all of hers in just a few bites, feeling absolutely famished. Once done, she takes her glass of orange juice and takes another sip.

"I'm not stupid, Daryl," she says quietly.

His eyes fly to her and his brow furrows. "I never thought you were."

"You're a good man and I knew it the second my daddy brought you back to the farm. I took one look at you and I knew that you were good and that I loved you. And I don't think I could have done any of that if you were truly a terrible person," she says, her eyes looking at nothing but him.

His own eyes lower for a moment to his own half-eaten sandwich on the plate. He then looks at her again. "I ain't never gonna hit you but I hurt you as much as my old man ever hurt my ma from actin' the way I did."

"You did hurt me," she nods, seeing no reason to lie about it when they both know it's the truth. "But I can tell that you are sorry about it and I don't think you're going to go out of your way to keep hurting me all of the time. It's hard," she then tells him and he looks at her, waiting for her to continue. "We got married so quickly, we're still learning about each other and how to be together."

He shakes his head at that though. "I think bein' with you is the most natural feelin' thing to ever happen to me."

"I think we're good together," she agrees with a small smile.

Daryl keeps looking at her, his eyes intent on hers. "We can be better."

And Beth is the one to lean in first and kiss him lightly on the lips. It's not like their usual kisses but right now, it's as perfect a kiss as one can be.

…

He's hesitant to go back to work the next day but Beth assures him that she's fine and she practically pushes him from the house.

She cleans and sings and bakes a blueberry pie, which she takes across the street to give to Sasha to thank her for calling the ambulance and running to tell Daryl. She then walks to the post office for some stamps and stops along the way to buy some flowers from a woman selling them along the side of the road. And back home, she arranges them in a vase and sets them on the coffee table in their living room.

When Daryl comes home in the evening, she greets him as she always does at the door and Daryl hugs her tightly as if they've been apart for years rather than hours. He kisses her again and again and he seems reluctant to let her go.

"Gotcha somethin'," he says once they finally do part.

"What?" She smiles and can't help but be a little eager. She loves presents and she loves when Daryl does something unexpected.

He reaches into his back pocket and holds a red bandana in the palm of his hand. Beth looks at him, smiling a little, and then carefully parts the bandana open, not too sure what to expect. And when she does see what it is, her mouth falls open. It's a silver necklace with a small star pendant hanging from it.

"Told you you're my north star," he says as he lifts the necklace up and manages to clasp it around her neck, his fingers fumbling for just a moment before he gets it. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Beth, and I ain't never gonna hurt you again," he then adds in a much softer voice.

Beth curls her fingers around the necklace and she looks up at him with tears in her eyes. He hasn't said he loves her but he does things like this and she thinks that maybe, someday he will be able to.

She pushes herself up on her toes and presses her lips to his and this time, it's the kind of kiss they usually share between them – open-mouthed with a tease of tongue and his fingers buried deeply in her hair. Beth thinks it might be their best kiss yet.

…

As she stands at the stove, mashing the potatoes in the pot and adding splashes of milk and squares of butter, Daryl stands behind her except this time, his arms aren't around her waist.

Instead, his hands are resting over her abdomen.

…

"Do you wanna move back to Georgia?" He asks her rather suddenly as they sit down to eat their pork chops and potatoes.

Beth's eyes widen as she looks at him. "What?"

He shrugs and looks a little unsure but he pushes on. "With the baby comin', maybe you wanna be closer to your ma and… we ain't been that happy here. We can move back if you want."

"Your job's here," she says.

He shrugs. "Jobs are all over. I can always find another job." He looks at her closely. "If you wanna move back, we'll move back tomorrow."

Beth just keeps staring at him, not too sure what to say, and that's surprising because she would have thought that if Daryl had ever suggested moving back to Georgia to her, she would have agreed in an instant.

But something inside of her is making her hesitant. This is their home. They've made this their home. His job is good here and he makes good money and she is becoming friends with all of the others who live around them. She's getting used to the city and she's starting to figure out where things are in the neighborhood. And she knows they haven't been particularly happy but that can change. That _will_ change. Things are already changing between them.

Maybe they'll go back to Georgia someday but for now, this is where their life is. And she's not the sort to just turn around and run back home when things get a little tough. She and Daryl are married and they're in this together and they're going to make a good life here. Together.

She looks to Daryl, finding that he's still staring at her, and she shakes her head slightly. "No," she answers. "Let's stay here for a little bit longer."

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading!**


	15. Moving On

**Chapter sixteen will be the last chapter.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Fifteen.**

Saturday night, after getting home from work, Daryl takes Beth to go see _Gilda_ and he buys her popcorn and they sit in the back row. And as Beth eats popcorn and is lost in Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, Daryl can't help but watch her rather than the movie. The screen illuminates her face in the dark theater and she chews slowly, as if the movie has hypnotized her. If anyone asks Daryl for the movie's summary, he wouldn't be able to explain a damn thing happening up on screen.

And when the movie ends and the lights come up again, Beth looks at him and her eyes are twinkling as if she wants to laugh because she knows. Walking outside again, the streets a little crowded from other theaters emptying at the same time, Daryl puts his arm around her shoulders and holds her close as they walk, and Beth happily leans into him. Every time he looks at her, she's smiling, and all he knows is he wants to keep that smile on her face for the rest of their life.

…

They get cheap Chinese takeout and eat from the white containers as they finish their walk home with plastic forks because neither know how to use the chopsticks.

Once home, Beth turns on the radio in the living room to listen to the evening news and she lays down on the couch, sighing contently, resting her hands on her stomach. Daryl lights a cigarette and sits down in his chair and they listen to the reports from around the country and the world. As usual, the main story is the trials over in Nuremberg of some of the captured Nazi leaders and as usual, Daryl is frowning as he listens. He still doesn't understand why any of these men are being given a trial instead of just being taken out back and shot.

After the news, Beth stands up again as the program changes to music and a song by the Andrews Sisters begins playing. She smiles at him and comes to stand in front of him, holding out her hands. She doesn't ask but her actions are loud enough and Daryl doesn't protest. He stubs the cigarette out in the ashtray on the table and stands up, his arm instantly sliding around her waist.

"You're getting better at this," Beth smiles faintly up at him.

Daryl smirks a little. "You say that every time. I should be a regular Fred Astaire by now," he says and she laughs softly and it tickles his ears. Nothing's better than Beth laughing and just like her smile, he wants her to laugh for the rest of their life.

…

Harvest time for the grove is nearing an end and Daryl is already thinking of where he could get his next job. He is thinking of heading to one of the garages in their neighborhood to see if any of them are hiring. The orchard and the grove are just seasonal jobs and while the pay is good, Daryl wants something more steady – especially with a baby coming. They'll have to find a new place to live, too. The house they're in now are just for Sunkist employees and while they have been good to Daryl, it's time for him to take Beth and move on.

On his lunch break, he stops back at the house to find Beth in the kitchen, humming to herself as she stands at the table, mixing something in a bowl.

"Hi!" She looks surprised to see him but happy, too, and he comes around the table to give her a kiss. "I didn't know you were going to be here for lunch. Did you eat your ham sandwich already? Do you want another one?"

She begins turning towards the refrigerator but Daryl stops her, loosely wrapping his fingers around her wrist.

"Nah, I'm good. I just wanted to come and tell 'ya that I'm headin' out for a lil' bit." He wants to tell her everything from now on. "You know that garage down the street? Douglas?" Beth nods her head and he can tell she's figured it out already. "Gonna go see if they have any work for me. Won't be able to pick oranges for much longer."

He doesn't realize how nervous he is in telling her this until she smiles and he feels himself relax. She stands up on her toes and kisses him softly on the lips.

"A kiss for good luck," she tells him.

Daryl walks down the street, feeling a little taller.

…

Douglas Garage is owned by a short, stocky black man – Theodore Douglas with a warm smile and a gap between his front teeth. It is only him and one other man working there – Oscar, a much taller black man, muscularly built and the same shaved head. He's silent and just gives Daryl a head nod as he enters the garage.

"You must have been reading my mind," Theodore is grinning. "I was just telling Oscar this morning that we're going to need another guy to help us out. Things seem to be getting busier every day. Where you work now?"

"Over at the Sunkist Groves but that job's just about done now and I'm lookin' for somethin' a bit more steady," Daryl explains and he can't help but look around. It's a small garage but it's clean and it looks like Theodore has everything they need.

"You married?" Theodore asks and Daryl nods.

"Baby on the way, too," he answers.

He's surprised when Theodore claps him on the back with his wide grin.

"Congratulations. Yeah, you definitely need to be doing something other than picking fruit. You any good with cars?"

Daryl nods again. "Been fixin' cars for most of my life and over there-" He doesn't have to explain what _over there_ means. "-I was usually one of the ones that could fix the tanks." He shrugs then. "Just good at machines."

"Where were you stationed?" Theodore asks.

"France, mostly."

"You at Normandy?"

Daryl's eyes drop to the floor as he nods his head. He's definitely not looking to talk about that. And Theodore obviously isn't a stupid man because he quickly changes the subject. Daryl thinks that maybe he doesn't want to talk about it either.

"I know the groves pay good money but I'm a small man with a small garage. I can pay you forty-five cents an hour-"

"I'll take it," Daryl says before the man can say anything else.

Theodore grins. "Well then, you can start next Monday."

Daryl shakes his hand and Theodore claps him on the back again and he already can't wait to stop by home again and tell Beth.

…

It's late but he knows, like him, she's not asleep. He's slept beside her enough times to know what she sounds like when she's sleeping and he swears, he can _hear_ her mind turning. She's lying on her side and he's lying behind her, his chest formed along the curve of her back and his arm is over her hip.

"My mom and daddy gave me the money they had been saving for me in the bank before we left," Beth says softly, knowing he's not asleep either. "We'll be able to find a nice place with two bedrooms and if it doesn't come furnished, we can buy furniture, too."

"Don't know if I wan' you spendin' your money like that," he responds in a matching soft voice.

Beth turns in his arms then so she's lying on her back and looking up at him. His arm remains across her stomach and he can feel the slight swell of her stomach already.

"It's _our_ money and my parents gave it to us so we could use it on anything we need," she reminds him. "And I think a home with furniture is something we need."

Daryl admits he's not too sure what to say to that. "And we have most of the money I've been makin' with Sunkist saved," he then adds.

Beth smiles. "We're going to be just fine."

He shakes his head a little. "What are you still doin' awake then? I thought you were worryin' about money."

She laughs a little at that and even in the darkness of their bedroom, he can see the twinkle in her eyes. "I knew you were worrying about it. But I was thinking if we have a son, will we name him Merle?"

He can just imagine what his face looks like because she laughs louder then.

"Hell, no," he shakes his head and she's still laughing. "Even Merle doesn' like his name," he says and he realizes that he's talking about him in the present tense still. He knows it's because of Beth.

…

Shane's not happy about Daryl leaving for another job – not that Daryl was expecting him to be happy. Shane and Len have plans to head down to Mexico and he has just been expecting Daryl to come with him.

Daryl frowns at him. "I got a wife and a baby on the way," he reminds his friend.

Shane just shakes his head. "Man, you'll still have a wife when we come back."

"Not if Beth's smart, I won't," Daryl grumbles. "What the hell are you goin' to do down in Mexico anyway?"

Shane shrugs. "Don't know. But that's the beauty of it. Can do anything I want. Got no one tyin' me down." Shane then grins at him but Daryl just keeps frowning.

Unlike when Shane mentioned California and the seed was planted in Daryl's mind, this time, when he mentions Mexico, Daryl just shakes his head and goes back to picking the last of the oranges in the tree and he doesn't think about it again.

He's ready to move on – but not move on to some place like Mexico.

…

Theodore and his wife, Jacqui, live in a little bungalow and behind their house, there's a garage with an apartment above it.

"Come and take a look at it and it's yours if you want it," Theodore offers so Daryl and Beth come over one Sunday afternoon, Beth bringing Jacqui a pecan pie.

"Oh my goodness, I haven't had pecan pie since we moved out of Georgia," Jacqui beams as she takes Beth's offering.

"You're from Georgia, too?" Beth immediately asks eagerly.

They spend the afternoon talking about their home state and when Theodore shows them the apartment before dinner, Daryl knows that Beth probably won't even care if the place doesn't have a roof. He can tell she wants to live here. Not only are Jacqui and Theodore nice but the neighborhood's nice and safe and quiet and plenty of yards have kids playing in them.

Daryl moves aside so Beth can climb up the stairs first, behind Theodore, and the top door opens up into a large kitchen. The living room is large, too, and there are two good-sized bedrooms and a pretty nice bathroom, too.

"Jacqui's friend, Andrea, was living up here for a while," Theodore explains as to why it's still in pretty good shape. "Moved out a while ago though. Wanted to live with her boyfriend," he says with an eye roll so it's pretty obvious there's more to the story. "I'm just glad he doesn't come around here anymore now that she's gone."

Daryl is watching Beth as she walks from room to room, opening cabinets and closets and turning on the faucet in the shower to watch the clear water running.

"And the garage has more than enough space below so feel free to park your truck in it next to my car," Theodore says.

"How much?" Daryl asks, finally taking his eyes away from Beth to look at the man.

Theodore hesitates. "Twenty bucks a month?" He asks as if he's not entirely sure.

But Daryl doesn't even stop to think about it. He looks at Beth and the smile on her face and he shakes Theodore's hand.

…

Andrea had left some furniture before but they still buy a table and chairs for the kitchen and a new mattress for the bedroom, the frame left behind in good shape. There's a couch in the living room but they buy a chair and a few extra lamps and a couple end tables for both the bedroom and the living room.

"Wanna buy a crib, too?" Daryl asks.

Beth gives him a small smile and shakes her head. "Not yet. If you buy a crib too early, it's bad luck and something might happen to the baby."

"Ain't nothin' gonna happen to that baby. Or to you," he adds and she smiles, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him right there in the furniture store.

…

She writes her parents and her sister every week and every week, when she receives their letters in return, she reads them no less than five times, lying on their bed and smiling at their words and telling Daryl all of the news that's happening both back in Georgia and in Michigan. Jimmy has started working at the farm and he's written a letter to Beth, telling her that her daddy is working him like a mule.

When she reads the letter from her mom, she gasps and flies up into a sitting position. "They want to come visit!" She exclaims. "They want to take the train and come and see us! Daryl, look!" She eagerly pushes the letter into his hands so he can read Annette's words, too. "Oh, Daryl can they come?"

"Why you askin' me for permission?" Daryl wonders. "Course they can come."

And he smiles a little, too, at the thought. He's missed Annette and Hershel, too.

…

They come the next month and they go to the train station to pick them up. Beth runs up to them at full speed and she and her mother nearly collide with one another on the platform. They are crying and smiling and hugging one another tightly. Daryl comes up beside her and he and Hershel shake hands, Hershel clasping his hand and pulling him into a one-armed hug.

"You're looking well, son," Hershel smiles at him. "California's air is good for you."

"You're looking good, too," Daryl smiles in return.

"Well, I have Jimmy working for me now and I'm having him do all the work," he says and Daryl laughs at that. Guess his letter to Beth hadn't been an exaggeration.

They drive them back to their apartment, showing them the auto garage where Daryl works along the way, and Beth is worried about Hershel climbing the stairs in his crutches but he just gives Beth a look to quiet her concern.

"It's just lovely," Annette smiles as Beth proudly shows her parents their new home and when she and Annette are in the second bedroom which they are going to be turning into the baby's room, Hershel stays in the living room where the couch pulls out into a bed and that's where and Annette will be sleeping.

"You can have mine and Beth's bedroom-" Daryl tries again to offer.

"I'm not going to kick my pregnant daughter out of her bed," Hershel says as he heavily sets himself down into the chair. "I need to talk with you about something."

"Alright," Daryl's brow furrows as he sits down on the couch across from him.

"I know you and Beth are happy out here. It might have been rough going at first-"

Daryl can't help but flinch at the reminder. As if he needs a reminder. Every day, he looks at Beth and thinks of how much he hurt her.

"-but you two have worked through it and her mother and I can tell how happy you both are now," Hershel continues. "Now, I'm not saying that this has to happen tomorrow but I am getting older."

Daryl stares at the man and suddenly, he feels nervous. What is Hershel saying? Is he sick? Is something happening?

And as if Hershel can read his mind, he smiles. "Don't really feel it but my wife, of course, likes to remind me that I am becoming an old man. That farm has been in my family for generations and it was always the plan to hand it down to Shawn."

A moment of sadness crossed over Hershel's face then and Daryl looked down to the floor, too. Beth didn't say it but he knew she missed her brother every day.

"And even when Maggie married Glenn, I didn't think to pass it onto him. Glenn's got his own business up in Michigan and he's doing well for himself and he doesn't know anything about running a farm. But you," Hershel looks at him and the smile has returned to his face. "But you, Daryl, I know my farm would be in good hands if I left it to you one of these days."

Daryl hears the words that the man is saying and yet, he can't really understand any of them. He starts to fill his head spin and he thinks that maybe he needs to lie down.

"You wanna leave your farm to me?" He then manages to ask, his voice a croak.

Hershel just keeps on smiling. "To you and Beth and your children. Like I said, it's not going to be today. You and Beth have a life here in California and I'm not ready to hang up my hat yet. But, one of these days, I would like to leave it to you. I think I couldn't leave it better hands than yours, Daryl."

Daryl just blinks at him and doesn't know what to say. What could he possibly say? This man has brought him into his family and is treating him like a son and Daryl is still learning what it means to be part of a family. Being married to Beth has certainly helped him along but this has just surpassed all of his existing knowledge. What would anyone say if they found themselves in this position? Is he just supposed to shake Hershel's hand and thank him or Is he supposed to talk to Beth about it first? He wants to talk with Beth about everything. He never wants to keep anything from her again and he doesn't care that as the man of the house, he is expected to make all the decisions on his own. This decision would effect Beth just as much as it does him and he wants to talk with her even though he is pretty sure already as to what her reaction to Hershel's offer will be.

"Well, son," Hershel broke through his thoughts and Daryl lifted his eyes to see Hershel smiling at him – his eyes twinkling just as Beth's when she smiles. "What do you say?"

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading!**


	16. Georgia on my Mind

**Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed and enjoyed this story. It was definitely different but I loved writing it so much and I think I've written everything for it that I wanted.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Sixteen.** Georgia on my Mind.

They have a son and both Daryl and Beth are in agreement that their son is the most perfect baby to be born in this world.

They name him Shawn Theodore Dixon and Annette and Hershel make another trip out to Los Angeles a couple of months after he's born to meet their first grandchild. Maggie and Glenn make a trip out, too, from Michigan, and it has been two years since the sisters have seen one another so their whole visit is spent together, Beth showing her sister her favorite places in the city. And while they are off every day, just the two of them and the baby, Daryl entertains his brother-in-law by taking Glenn to work with him, where Glenn and Theodore seem to immediately bond over their love of baseball and music.

When they have to return to Michigan, Daryl and Beth take Maggie and Glenn to the train station and the two sisters cling to one another and cry as if they are never going to see one another again despite both of their husbands promising them that once they return to the Georgia farm, visits will be able to be made more frequently.

Before returning home, Daryl stops at one of the farm stands set up alongside the road and he buys Beth what looks to be the ripest, juiciest peach he can find in hopes of making her smile and though she does once he gets back to the truck and gives it to her, it's not the usually bright Beth smile he is so used to.

Inside their apartment, he goes to place Shawn down for his nap and when he finds Beth again, she's in the kitchen, with bare feet, leaning against the counter and eating the peach. She looks up when he enters and she lets out a soft sigh.

"It's not like I'm never going to see her again," Beth says, reading his mind as to what he had just been about to say to her. "It's just hard. To go more than two years without seeing her and then seeing her again only for her to leave again. I miss her now than I did before she came."

Daryl isn't sure what to say to any of that. He still misses Merle like hell but he's gotten to the point where he's able to get through a day without thinking of his brother. But Maggie's not Merle. She's still alive and Beth can call her up or write to her whenever she wants. He's not going to say that though. He can't tell his wife that she's not allowed to miss her sister.

He's not that much of an asshole.

Instead, he just comes to stand in front of her and his hands slide over her hips. She takes one more bite of the peach and then holds it up to him in a silent offering. Daryl just shakes his head and moves in, pressing his lips to hers, getting his taste of the peach that way.

…

They've been careful since Shawn's birth. They just had one baby and neither of them are looking to have another one so soon. He always makes sure he pulls out.

Beth likes to be on top of him, they've both discovered. She likes to rock her hips against his and move at her own speed and she likes Daryl on his back, looking up at her. And Daryl lies there with his hands on her thighs or her hips or sweeping up her chest to her breasts and any time she feels like riding him, he will never complain.

He's never stopped thinking in that he's married to the prettiest girl in the world. Not just Los Angeles or Georgia but in the entire world. He has no doubt in his mind.

And as he lays on their bed with Beth straddling him, panting and moaning his name, the moon casts light into the bedroom through the window, shining upon her like a spotlight, he looks up at her and Daryl knows that there's no way he's wrong.

…

They stay in LA for two more years.

Daryl keeps working at Douglas Garage and he and Beth keep living in the apartment above Theodore and Jacqui's garage. Shawn takes his first steps in the kitchen, and babbles his first word of "dada!" in the living room – which makes Daryl feel like he's going to cry the first time his son says it – and they have Thanksgivings and Christmases and birthdays with Theodore and Jacqui and Oscar and his wife and it's their own little family they have made for themselves.

They go to the beach every weekend if the weather permits and go see movies and walk Hollywood Boulevard to look at the stars or Grauman's Chinese Theater to look at the hand and footprints like they're regular tourists and Beth almost faints when they see Lana Turner in passing one day.

When Elizabeth Short is murdered in 1947, it grips the entire city, and Beth is terrified to have Daryl go to work and leave her alone. She mostly spends her days with Jacqui down in the bungalow until he comes home again and he, one day, decides to buy a dog. Daryl comes home with a black Labrador and he names him Smokey and Beth loves him immediately.

And Daryl feels a little better about having to go to work every day if Smokey is there, making sure Beth's not scared anymore – especially after Shawn's born and the dog can always be found, sleeping in the nursery as if the baby is his own to protect. Daryl hopes Beth feels safer for now until they're back in Georgia.

…

Beth admits that she never expected to return to Georgia but when Daryl tells her about her daddy and the farm, she's not exactly surprised either.

"He mentioned it to me once," she comments off-handedly the same afternoon Daryl tells her about Hershel's offer. "Before we came here. He didn't think you would ever accept though if he was to ask."

"Why?" Daryl asks, genuinely surprised at that.

Beth gives him a shrug and small smile. "He always thought you could do anything you wanted to in the world. He never thought you would want to run a farm."

Daryl is silent then, stunned, and she knows he's still not used to people thinking such high thoughts of him. He's getting better; getting past the chains of his last name but still, sometimes, he's completely taken aback with people having a good opinion of him.

She eases herself down in his lap and kisses his cheek and his arms bind tight around her waist, hugging her close.

…

They sell most of their furniture and load the back bed of the pickup truck with their belongings and a spot for Smokey to ride. They say goodbye to their friends and stop at the beach one last time – never knowing when, or if, they will see the Pacific Ocean again – and in just a little bit, Los Angeles is a dot in their rearview mirror.

…

Beth leans forward in her seat as Daryl drives the truck around the bend in the dirt road, the white farmhouse growing larger in the front windshield.

"It doesn't look any different," she comments.

Daryl smirks a little from behind the wheel. "You expected it to?" He asks.

"No," she shakes her head and looks at him with a smile. "It's just that feeling you get when you've been gone for such a long time and then you come home. You think everything looks different when really, you're the only thing that's actually different." She settles back in her seat.

Shawn is sleeping peacefully between them and Beth smiles down at him, combing her fingers through his still baby-fine hair, the same shade of brown as Daryl's.

She found herself having fallen in love with Los Angeles but she's excited for her son to have the same childhood she did. Growing up on a farm, running around barefoot, riding horses and picking apples. And maybe he'll find love one day just like she did.

…

Hershel is getting old and getting tired though he'll never admit either of these things but he's spending his days, resting more, and Daryl takes over the chores of the farm immediately. Otis is still working there and Jimmy is still there, too, now living down in the cabin, and Daryl works himself sun up to sun down with their help. It's not as if the farm needs that much work. Daryl's just eager to start working on making the farm his own.

He, Beth and Shawn are living in the farmhouse with Annette and Hershel and every night, Otis returns home to Patricia and Daryl and Jimmy drag themselves inside to the kitchen where Beth and Annette are setting dinner on the table.

"You need to slow down," Beth murmurs to him quietly and Daryl just nods his head because he knows he does and she tells him so every night.

…

"Gotta surprise for you," Daryl says one morning after breakfast and everyone is smiling widely – except Beth – because they already know what the surprise is.

"What?" She asks, beginning to smile, too, because she can feel his anxiousness.

He doesn't say anything though. He just takes her hand and pulls her outside and she expects everyone to follow but it's just her and Daryl walking towards the barn.

She hears it before she sees it and her hand is already covering her mouth as they round the corner and at the far end of the barn, there is a new pen built to the side of it and inside, there are pigs. And Beth feels tears flooding her eyes when she sees it.

Daryl looks at her, looking hopeful and nervous all at the same time. "Told me once you've always wanted pigs on the farm." He shrugs then, trying to be casual about the whole thing. "Figured it'd be a good investment."

And she looks at the pigs and then at him and a part of her can't believe that he remembers a comment she made once so long ago. But she tells herself that she shouldn't be surprised at all because this is Daryl and he's so good at things like this even if he never believes in himself enough to believe it.

Beth looks at him and she's smiling and crying all at the same time and she throws her arms around his neck and kisses him hard on the mouth.

"You like it?" Daryl asks with a smile and she laughs before kissing him again.

…

She got used to wearing shoes in LA but being back on the farm, Beth is eager to be barefoot again and feel the warm grass beneath her feet. She feels like she's smiling every day and there's no reason to stop because she's home to stay.

She takes Shawn and walks slowly with him as he practices walking on his chubby unsteady legs and she walks him through the orchards and up the hill that overlooks the whole farm. Sometimes, she brings Nellie, too, so the horse can roam.

And they spend some afternoons, sitting in the grass on the hill, Beth plucking dandelions and Shawn watching her as she weaves them together so they can both wear them as crowns on their head. She laughs as Shawn smells the yellow weeds and they rub off all over his nose and he smiles as she wipes it away.

Daryl comes to find them sometimes and he sits with them. Shawn plops himself down in his lap and Beth weaves together a dandelion crown for Daryl to wear, too.

…

Merle isn't dead.

When the letter comes, Daryl actually falls down to his knees and he reads the words but he can hardly believe it. This whole time, he's been alive. Beth was right. He was freed from a German POW camp and has spent the past couple of years in London, recovering. He's lost his left hand from infection but other than that, he's ready to come home.

Daryl doesn't trust himself to drive and Beth drives them to Atlanta to get Merle.

Merle is thin and his eyes are empty and Daryl steps forward, giving him a hug and he's not surprised when Merle doesn't hug him back. Merle doesn't seem like he has any idea where he is but that's okay because he's alive and he's home now and that's all that Daryl cares about. Beth smiles and introduces herself and hugs him, telling him that she hopes he's happy on the farm with them.

Merle doesn't speak anymore. He spends his days sitting on a chair on the front porch, not saying or doing anything, but Daryl doesn't care. All he cares is that his brother is alive and here with him. At least in the physical sense.

…

They still dance. He has definitely gotten better but just it's a slow song. After dinner and after listening to the news, they dance. Usually in the kitchen because he still doesn't really like anyone else looking at him when he does it. Annette and Hershel are in the living room with Merle and Shawn, Shawn playing with his uncle because even though Merle doesn't talk, he has begun sitting on the floor with his nephew and playing with his building blocks.

Beth smiles as she sways in his arms because Daryl is so shy – even in front of family – and she finds it to be so adorable. Her husband has been through so much and has seen so much but he's still almost scared when it comes to the silliest things. She hums along to the song playing from the radio set on the counter and she feels his chin rubbing along the top of her head.

"I love 'ya," he whispers in her ear as he usually does whenever he says it to her.

The first time he said that had been in the living room of their apartment in Los Angeles, dancing much like this, her pregnant stomach pressing into his. He had whispered it in her ear and she hadn't made a big deal about it – not wanting to because deep down, she knew it was something she had known for a while.

She had just smiled and wrapped her arms around him tighter and after that, he almost always says it to her when they're dancing.

"I love you, too," she murmurs to him and his arms squeeze around her.

She closes her eyes as his lips brush across her temple and they're hardly dancing anymore, instead, just standing in the middle of the kitchen with their arms around each other. Beth loves when they do that as much as she loves when they dance.

…

"See that one right there, Shawn?" Daryl asked, holding the toddler in one of his arms, his other hand pointing to a red apple hanging on the branch, plump and shining and begging to be picked.

"Yep!" Shawn exclaims, bobbing his head eagerly.

"Go on." Daryl moves in to the tree a little closer and Shawn stretches out of his arm, Beth standing near, her hands bracing him on either side so he doesn't fall.

He tugs as hard as he can and Daryl reaches out to help him. The apple is plucked from the branch and Shawn hugs it tightly to his chest, beaming.

"Good job," Daryl tells him and Beth kisses Shawn proudly on the cheek.

"The first apple picked of the season," she smiles.

Daryl stands there as he looks out over the orchard and all of the trees, ripe with apples, ready to be picked. He gives his head a nod and then turns to look at Beth. She is standing beside him in her dress and bare feet and her hair is long and down and blowing in the gentle fall breeze. She looks up at him and smiles and he shifts Shawn to his opposite arm so he can put his other around her shoulders.

"Want to start tomorrow?" She asks.

"Yeah," he gives his head a nod. "Tomorrow's good."

Shawn takes a crunch of the apple and then holds it to Daryl's lips, offering it to him, and the toddler smiles happily as Daryl takes a bite. Daryl then takes the apple and holds it to Beth's mouth and she smiles at him with her eyes as she takes a bite.

They all crunch on their mouthfuls as they began walking through the trees, heading back towards the house - Smokey trotting in front of them, leading the way, Beth humming a Judy Garland song softly and Shawn playing with the dog-tag chain hanging around Daryl's neck and Daryl looking at the apples as they pass.

It's a beautiful fall day – the sun shining and white cotton ball puffs of clouds hanging in the clear blue sky. Daryl tries to think of the last ugly day he's seen. He can't remember it.

…

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 **The End.**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**


	17. A Hershel Epilogue of Sorts

**A little thing I wrote up for this universe but didn't think it should be it's own one-shot.**

 **I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and with my confidence of Beth coming back being at rock bottom, I keep reading spoilers of Daryl dying in the season finale and it actually makes my chest hurt thinking about it all. I don't think I'm able to watch the show anymore and unfortunately, I don't know if I'll be able to write this couple for much longer anymore either. I can't thank you all enough who opened your arms to me and pulled me so warmly into this fandom and have enjoyed my stories as much as you have.**

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…

Hershel Greene knew the Lord had tested him many times throughout his life; to see if his faith in Him would remain strong or if Hershel would falter and dunk back into that bottle.

The way his father had treated him. The loss of his leg in the First World War. The death of his first wife. And then, what was undoubtedly the most crushing blow in his life, the death of his son on that beach in Normandy, so far from home and probably crying for his mother.

And though he had had moments where he had looked to the heavens and asked Him why He insisted on testing him so much, the dark moments in his life, he was shown, and later able to see for himself, were far fewer when compared with the brightness he was forever grateful for.

He was a man blessed enough to have found another wife and he knew a man had trouble sometimes finding even one love of his life but Hershel had managed to find two. And though he sometimes still missed Joanna, mostly when he looked at his older daughter, Maggie, who looked just like her, Hershel knew she was in a far better place and that he would see her again someday. And his second wife, Annette, made him smile every day and made him feel young.

He was able to see Maggie meet and marry a fine young man, Glenn Rhee, and even though they moved away to Glenn's home state of Michigan, they spoke often and wrote to one another and he knew Maggie was happy and well taken care of. Glenn owned his own little grocery store and he and Maggie worked side by side, true partners, and Maggie had written to him that she thought they were both finally ready to start and try to have their first child.

And then, there was his youngest. Beth. His Bethy.

She had stayed at the farm and had married a man a bit older than her but one who treated her as if his entire world circled around her – she the sun of the entire solar system and he a mere planet. It was Hershel's decision to finally retire from farming – much to the relief of Annette – and bequeath it to his son-in-law, Daryl Dixon. And Daryl worked hard, sun up to sun down, as if determined to show Hershel that he hadn't made a mistake in allowing Daryl to have the farm that had been in the Greene family ever since they had come over on the boat from Ireland.

They had four children of their own and Hershel had never realized how quiet the house had gotten until his grandchildren were making noise in every room; noise he relished in. Shawn – named for his lost son and Beth's brother – was five, Henry was two and the twins, Patrick and Hannah, were just a few months old. They seemed to have one after another but Daryl had mentioned once that he would like four children and Beth wanted to give him that and once Beth delivered the twins, they knew they would have no more. Four was plenty and the children ran their parents ragged each day.

For three years of the war, Daryl had been in Europe, mostly stationed in France, and though he never took his dog tags off from around his neck, he never talked about what it was like over there for him. Hershel could just imagine though. Daryl still cringed whenever he heard loud noises – the fireworks at the yearly Fourth of July carnival always making him freeze in his spot and Beth would reach over, grabbing hold of his hand and rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. Most years, the Dixon family didn't stay for the fireworks.

They had been in California for a couple of years right after they had gotten married – Daryl first working for the Sunkist orange groves and then working at an auto garage and Shawn had been born out there. But Beth and Daryl both missed Georgia and were ready to come home. And since Daryl had taken over the farm, it was thriving like it never had been before. Hershel was a good farmer and had made a comfortable life for himself and his family. And Daryl was doing an amazing job of doing the same for his family. For having never been a farmer, for not having grown up in this life, he certainly had a knack for it and every time Hershel would tell him something like that, the tips of the man's ears would turn red with embarrassment.

Since Daryl had taken over, he had gotten the farm pigs – Beth had always wanted pigs on the farm – as well as a few more dairy cows. They had cleared a small field and were now growing cotton in addition to their apples and the farm was good and prosperous.

It was a lot of work and Hershel knew it drove Beth crazy with Daryl working himself into the ground but they still had Otis, who had been working at the farm for as long as anyone could remember, and Jimmy Campbell worked there now, too, living in the cabin down the hill. And the Lord had showed his presence once again in Hershel's life by revealing Daryl's older brother, Merle, to be alive. He had been a POW in Germany for so long, he no longer spoke. For as long as he had been at the farm, Hershel had never heard the man utter a word.

But things like that didn't matter. He had lost his left hand to infection but he didn't need his voice or his left hand to take care of the animals. He saw to the horses and the pigs and though he couldn't help milk the cows, he made sure they were fed and happy, too. And Hershel saw the way that man smiled whenever Shawn and Henry came running to him, shouting for their Uncle Merle. He grinned and Hershel thought that the man wanted to speak so badly but he was never able to. But that didn't bother his nephews who clambered all over him.

They all lived together in the farmhouse and though the farmhouse was big and had plenty of room for everyone, Annette and Hershel tried to give the young family time on their own without the parents always around. Their bedroom was the largest in the house with its own sitting room and sometimes, after dinner, he and Annette would sit in there, Annette reading or doing needlepoint as Hershel listened to the radio, able to hear the sound of the children's laughter coming up from downstairs or a Johnny Mercer song playing and they both knew that Daryl was dancing with Beth. She had taught him how to dance and now, the man danced with her nearly every night, know how happy it made her.

And a few times every year, he and Annette would travel up to Michigan to see Maggie and Glenn and when they returned home, Shawn would run from the house at the first sounds of their car coming up the drive, followed by Henry, eager to see their grandparents and Hershel would get out of the car, able to lift both boys up at the same time and he'd then lift his eyes to see Daryl and Beth with the babies coming to greet them as well, all with smiles on their faces, and Hershel always smiled in return.

In such moments, Hershel would look upwards to the heavens and never think of questioning Him ever again.

…

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 **Thank you very much for always reading.**


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